Electronic device and control method thereof

Abstract

This electronic device comprises: a communication device; at least one memory for storing key information; and at least one processor for, when onboarding information is acquired, performing a registration procedure of the electronic device by using the acquired onboarding information, wherein the at least one processor identifies another electronic device having the key information on the basis of the key information, and controls the communication device so that the acquired onboarding information is transmitted to another electronic device which is not onboarded among identified other electronic devices.

Description

Electronic device and method of controlling the same

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an electronic device and a method for controlling the same, and more particularly, to an electronic device and a method for controlling the same that can easily onboard a plurality of electronic devices using a key.

[0002] As IoT (Internet of Things) technology advances, various electronic devices are registered on the Internet, allowing users to easily control various electronic devices.

[0003] In order to use IoT devices like these, a series of onboarding processes are required, including connecting the device to the Internet and registering it with a device that manages the device (e.g., a home server, server, etc.).

[0004] However, registering multiple IoT devices, rather than just one, required repetitive, inconvenient steps. Therefore, there was a need for a way to easily onboard multiple IoT devices.

[0005] An electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a communication device, at least one memory storing key information, and at least one processor configured to perform a registration procedure of the electronic device using onboarding information acquired from the electronic device, to determine at least one electronic device among other electronic devices having the key information, to identify other electronic devices, and to control the communication device such that the acquired onboarding information is transmitted to another electronic device among the identified other electronic devices that has not been onboarded and has the key information.

[0006] The key information includes a random value, and the at least one processor can generate at least one of an SSID and a password based on the random value, and establish a connection with the other electronic device using at least one of the generated SSID and password.

[0007] The communication device can operate in AP mode and station mode, and the at least one processor can alternately control the communication device to have the AP mode and the station mode.

[0008] The at least one processor, when the communication device of the electronic device is operating in AP mode, obtains onboarding information from another electronic device or user terminal having a communication device operating in station mode, and when the communication device of the electronic device is in station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device that has key information and has not yet acquired onboarding information is in AP mode, the processor can transmit the obtained onboarding information to the at least one electronic device that has key information and has not yet acquired onboarding information.

[0009] The at least one processor may, when the communication device of the electronic device is operating in a station mode, obtain the onboarding information from another electronic device having the key information and a communication device operating in an AP mode, and, when the communication device of the electronic device is operating in a station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device determined to have the key information and not have onboarding information is operating in an AP mode, transmit the obtained onboarding information to the at least one other electronic device determined to have the key information and not have onboarding information.

[0010] The at least one memory stores periodic information and sequence information, and the at least one processor controls the communication device to operate in AP mode at a time corresponding to the periodic information and sequence information, and controls the communication device to operate in station mode at the remaining time.

[0011] The at least one processor can confirm the completion of sharing of onboarding information based on the sequence information, control the communication device of the electronic device to operate in the station mode when the sharing of the onboarding information is completed, and establish an access point connection based on the onboarding information.

[0012] The onboarding information includes AP connection information including an SSID (ServiceSetIdentifier) ​​of an access point, security setting information of the access point, and password information corresponding to the security setting information, and the at least one processor can establish a connection with the access point based on the AP connection information.

[0013] The onboarding information further includes user account information, and the at least one processor can perform a registration procedure of the electronic device on an external server using the user account information when the electronic device establishes a connection with an access point.

[0014] The above key information may include at least one of ‘a key value generated based on the address where the electronic device is installed’, shared SSID information, and shared password information.

[0015] A method for controlling an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of storing key information in the electronic device, obtaining onboarding information, performing a registration procedure for the electronic device using the obtained onboarding information, identifying other electronic devices to determine at least one electronic device among the other electronic devices having the key information, and transmitting the obtained onboarding information to another electronic device among the identified other electronic devices that has not been onboarded and has the key information.

[0016] The above key information includes a random value, and the control method may further include a step of the electronic device generating at least one of an SSID and a password based on the random value, and a step of establishing a connection with the other electronic device using at least one of the generated SSID and password.

[0017] The control method may further include a step of alternately changing the communication mode of the electronic device between AP mode and station mode.

[0018] The step of obtaining the onboarding information may include, if the communication device of the electronic device is operating in AP mode, obtaining onboarding information from another electronic device or user terminal having a communication device operating in station mode, and the step of transmitting the obtained onboarding information may include, if the communication device of the electronic device is in station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device determined to have not yet obtained onboarding information and having key information is in AP mode, transmitting the obtained onboarding information to at least one electronic device determined to have not yet obtained onboarding information and having key information.

[0019] The step of obtaining the onboarding information may include, if the communication device of the electronic device is operating in a station mode, obtaining the onboarding information from another electronic device having the key information and having a communication device operating in an AP mode, and the step of transmitting the obtained onboarding information may include, if the communication device of the electronic device is operating in a station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device determined to have the key information and not have onboarding information is operating in an AP mode, transmitting the obtained onboarding information to at least one other electronic device determined to have the key information and not have onboarding information.

[0020] The control method further includes a step of pre-storing periodic information and sequence information, and the changing step can convert the communication mode of the electronic device to operate in AP mode at a time corresponding to the periodic information and sequence information, and to operate in station mode at the remaining time.

[0021] The step of performing the above onboarding procedure may include confirming the completion of sharing of onboarding information based on the sequence information, switching the communication mode of the electronic device to the station mode when the sharing of the onboarding information is completed, and establishing an access point connection based on the onboarding information.

[0022] The above onboarding information includes AP connection information including an SSID (ServiceSetIdentifier) ​​of an access point, security setting information of the access point, and password information corresponding to the security setting, and the step of performing the onboarding procedure can establish a connection with the access point based on the AP connection information.

[0023] The above onboarding information further includes user account information, and the step of performing the onboarding procedure may perform a registration procedure of the electronic device on an external server using the user account information when the electronic device establishes a connection with an access point.

[0024] In a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a control method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control method includes the steps of storing key information in the electronic device, obtaining onboarding information, performing a registration procedure of the electronic device using the obtained onboarding information, identifying other electronic devices to determine at least one electronic device among the other electronic devices having the key information, and transmitting the obtained onboarding information to another electronic device among the identified other electronic devices that has not been onboarded with the key information.

[0025] The above-described and other aspects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0026] FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining an electronic system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of providing onboarding information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a sharing operation of key information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figures 7 to 9 are drawings showing examples of user interface windows that can be displayed on a user terminal device.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of providing onboarding information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 11 is a drawing showing an example of a user interface window that can be displayed on a user terminal device.

[0035] FIG. 12 is a drawing for explaining a communication mode in each electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for sharing onboarding information in multiple electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for sharing onboarding information in multiple electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for sharing onboarding information in multiple electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sharing key information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing onboarding information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying another electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining a control method in an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and

[0043] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sharing onboarding information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] It should be understood that the various embodiments and terms used in this document are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but rather to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments.

[0045] In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components.

[0046] The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0047] In this document, each of the phrases "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "at least one of A, B, or C" may include any one of the items listed together in that phrase, or all possible combinations thereof.

[0048] Terms such as "first," "second," or "first" or "second" may be used simply to distinguish one component from another and do not qualify the components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order).

[0049] When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as being “coupled” or “connected” to another component (e.g., a second component), with or without the terms “functionally” or “communicatively,” it means that the component can be connected to the other component directly (e.g., wired), wirelessly, or through a third component.

[0050] The terms “include” or “have” are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in this document, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

[0051] When a component is said to be “connected,” “coupled,” “supported,” or “in contact with” another component, this includes not only cases where the components are directly connected, coupled, supported, or in contact, but also cases where the components are indirectly connected, coupled, supported, or in contact through a third component.

[0052] When we say that a component is "on" another component, this includes not only cases where the component is in contact with the other component, but also cases where there is another component between the two components.

[0053]

[0054] *The term “and / or” includes any combination of multiple related described components or any one of multiple related described components.

[0055] The expression "configured to" as used in the present disclosure may be used interchangeably with, for example, "suitable for," "having the capacity to," "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of." The term "configured to" may not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" in terms of hardware.

[0056] Instead, in some contexts, the phrase "a device configured to" may mean that the device, in conjunction with other devices or components, is "capable of" performing A, B, and C. For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" may refer to a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing those operations, or a general-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU or application processor) that can perform those operations by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device.

[0057] In the embodiments, a 'module' or 'part' performs at least one function or operation, and may be implemented as hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software. Furthermore, a plurality of 'modules' or 'parts' may be integrated into at least one module and implemented as at least one processor, except for a 'module' or 'part' that needs to be implemented as a specific hardware.

[0058] According to various embodiments, operations performed by a module, program or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively or heuristically, or at least some operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or other operations may be added.

[0059] Meanwhile, the various elements and areas in the drawings are schematically drawn. Therefore, the technical concept of the present invention is not limited by the relative sizes or spacing depicted in the attached drawings.

[0060] The operating principle and embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings below.

[0061] FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining an electronic system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device (100) may include a communication module capable of communicating with another home appliance, a user device (2, 10), or a server (3), a user interface for receiving user input or outputting information to a user, at least one processor for controlling the operation of the electronic device (100), and at least one memory in which a program for controlling the operation of the electronic device (100) is stored.

[0063] The electronic device (100) may be at least one of various types of home appliances. For example, the electronic device (100) may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a refrigerator (11), a dishwasher (12), an electric range (13), an electric oven (14), an air conditioner (15), a clothes manager (16), a washing machine (17), a dryer (18), and a microwave oven (19) as illustrated, and may include, for example, various types of home appliances such as a cleaning robot, a vacuum cleaner, and a television, which are not illustrated in the drawing. In addition, the home appliances mentioned above are merely examples, and in addition to the home appliances mentioned above, a device that is connected to other home appliances, user devices (2, 10), or servers (3) and can perform the operations described below may be included in the electronic device (100) according to one embodiment.

[0064] The server (3) may include a communication module capable of communicating with another server, an electronic device (100), or a user device (2, 10), at least one processor capable of processing data received from another server, an electronic device (100), or a user device (2, 10), and at least one memory capable of storing a program for processing data or processed data.

[0065] These servers (3) can be implemented as various computing devices such as workstations, clouds, data drives, and data stations. The servers (3) can be implemented as one or more servers that are physically or logically separated based on function, detailed configuration of function, or data, and can transmit and receive data and process the transmitted and received data through communication between each server.

[0066] The server (3) can perform functions such as managing user accounts, registering electronic devices (100) by linking them to user accounts, and managing or controlling registered electronic devices (100). For example, a user can access the server (3) through a user device (2, 10) and create a user account. As illustrated, the user device may be located within the same network, or may be located and used on an external Internet network.

[0067] A user account can be identified by an ID and password (or token) set by a user. The server (3) can register an electronic device (100) to the user account according to a set procedure. For example, the server (3) can register, manage, and control the electronic device (100) by linking identification information (e.g., serial number or MAC address, etc.) of the electronic device (100) to the user account. The user device (2, 10) can include a communication module capable of communicating with the electronic device (100) or the server (3), a user interface for receiving user input or outputting information to the user, at least one processor for controlling the operation of the user device, and at least one memory storing a program for controlling the operation of the user device.

[0068] Such a server (3) can be referred to as an IoT server or a cloud server in that it can control a plurality of electronic devices as described above, and can also be referred to as a home server that controls only the electronic devices of specific users rather than the electronic devices of a plurality of users.

[0069] The user device (2, 10) may be carried by the user or placed in the user's home or office, etc. The user device (2, 10) may include, but is not limited to, a personal computer, a terminal, a portable telephone, a smart phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, etc.

[0070] These user devices (2, 10) may be referred to as user terminal devices, or may be referred to as helpers or helper devices in that they assist in the registration process of electronic devices in the process described below.

[0071] A program for controlling the electronic device (100), i.e., an application, may be stored in the memory of the user device (2, 10). The application may be sold installed in the user device (2, 10) or downloaded and installed from an external server.

[0072] A user can access a server (3) by executing an application installed on a user device (2, 10), create a user account, and register an electronic device (100) by communicating with the server (3) based on the logged-in user account.

[0073] For example, when the electronic device (100) is operated so that the electronic device (100) can be connected to the server (3) according to the procedure guided by the application installed on the user device (2, 10), the electronic device (100) can be registered in the user account by registering the identification information (e.g., serial number or MAC address) of the electronic device (100) in the corresponding user account on the server (3). A more specific operation for this will be described later in FIG. 5.

[0074] A user can control an electronic device (100) using an application installed on the user device (2, 10). For example, when a user logs into a user account using an application installed on the user device (2, 10), an electronic device (100) registered to the user account appears, and when a control command for the electronic device (100) is input, the control command can be transmitted to the electronic device (100) via the server (3).

[0075] A network can include both wired and wireless networks. Wired networks include cable networks or telephone networks, while wireless networks can include any network that transmits and receives signals via radio waves. Wired and wireless networks can be interconnected.

[0076] A network may include a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN) formed around an access point (AP) (access relay), and a short-range wireless network that does not use an access point (AP). Short-range wireless networks may include, but are not limited to, Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4), Wi-Fi Direct, Near Field Communication (NFC), Z-Wave, etc.

[0077] An access point (20) can connect an electronic device (100) or a user device (2, 10) to a wide area network (WAN) to which a server (3) is connected. The electronic device (100) or a user device (2, 10) can be connected to the server (3) via the wide area network (WAN).

[0078] An access point (AP) can communicate with an electronic device (100) or a user device (2, 10) using wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), or Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4), and can connect to a wide area network (WAN) using wired communication, but is not limited thereto.

[0079] According to various embodiments, the electronic device (100) may be directly connected to a user device (2, 10) or a server (3) without going through an access point (AP).

[0080] The electronic device (100) can be connected to a user device (2, 10) or a server (3) via a long-range wireless network or a short-range wireless network.

[0081] For example, the electronic device (100) may be connected to a user device (2, 10) via a short-range wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi Direct).

[0082] As another example, the electronic device (100) may be connected to a user device (2, 10) or a server (3) via a wide area network (WAN) using a long-range wireless network (e.g., a cellular communication module).

[0083] As another example, the electronic device (100) may connect to a wide area network (WAN) using wired communication and be connected to a user device (2, 10) or a server (3) through the wide area network (WAN).

[0084] If the electronic device (100) can access a wide area network (WAN) using wired communication, it can also function as an access point. Accordingly, the electronic device (100) can connect other home appliances to the wide area network (WAN) to which the server (3) is connected. In addition, other home appliances can connect the electronic device (100) to the wide area network (WAN) to which the server (3) is connected.

[0085] An electronic device (100) can transmit information about its operation or status to another home appliance, a user device (2, 10), or a server (3) via a network. For example, the electronic device (100) can transmit information about its operation or status to another home appliance, a user device (2, 10), or a server (3) when a request is received from a server (3), when a specific event occurs in the electronic device (100), or periodically or in real time.

[0086] When information about the operation or status is received from the electronic device (100), the server (3) can update the information about the operation or status of the electronic device (100) that has been stored therein and transmit the updated information about the operation and status of the electronic device (100) to the user device (2, 10) via the network.

[0087] Here, updating information may include various actions that change existing information, such as adding new information to existing information or replacing existing information with new information.

[0088] The electronic device (100) can obtain various information from other home appliances, user devices (2, 10), or a server (3), and provide the obtained information to the user. For example, the electronic device (100) can obtain information related to the function of the electronic device (100) (e.g., cooking methods, washing instructions, etc.) and various environmental information (e.g., weather, temperature, humidity, etc.) from the server (3), and output the obtained information through a user interface.

[0089] The electronic device (100) can operate according to control commands received from other home appliances, user devices (2, 10), or the server (3). For example, if the electronic device (100) has obtained prior approval from the user to operate according to control commands from the server (3) even without user input, the electronic device (100) can operate according to control commands received from the server (3).

[0090] Here, the control command received from the server (3) may include, but is not limited to, a control command input by the user through the user device (2, 10) or a control command based on preset conditions.

[0091] The user device (2, 10) can transmit information about the user to the electronic device (100) or the server (3) via the communication module. For example, the user device (2, 10) can transmit information about the user's location, the user's health status, the user's preferences, the user's schedule, etc. to the server (3). The user device (2, 10) can transmit information about the user to the server (3) with the user's prior consent.

[0092] The electronic device (100), user device (2, 10), or server (3) may determine a control command using technology such as artificial intelligence. For example, the server (3) may receive information regarding the operation or status of the electronic device (100) or information regarding the user of the user device (2, 10), process the information using technology such as artificial intelligence, and transmit the processing result or control command to the electronic device (100) or user device (2, 10) based on the processing result.

[0093] Meanwhile, while the above illustrates a state in which multiple electronic devices (100) are connected to an access point, if the user has moved to a new location, the multiple electronic devices (100) may not be connected to the access point. Furthermore, if the electronic devices are new, they are not registered with the aforementioned server, requiring an onboarding procedure.

[0094] However, since the existing onboarding procedure had to be performed individually for each electronic device, in order to perform onboarding for multiple electronic devices (100) as illustrated, an operation of providing information necessary for onboarding to each electronic device (100) was required for the number of new electronic devices that the user wanted to install.

[0095] For example, it was necessary to press a preset key on each electronic device (100) to create a state where onboarding is possible, and to perform an action of entering (or providing) information for connecting to an access point and account information for using a server on the electronic device (100) or user terminal device (10).

[0096] If this process has to be repeated, the user will inevitably feel fatigued by the repetitive actions described above.

[0097] Therefore, in order to solve the above-described inconvenience, the present disclosure utilizes a technology for independently sharing onboarding information between electronic devices requiring onboarding.

[0098] Specifically, when all of the illustrated electronic devices (11 to 19) are not onboarded, if a user inputs (or transmits) onboarding information for only one of the electronic devices (e.g., 11), the remaining devices also receive the onboarding information and automatically perform onboarding operations.

[0099] However, in spaces such as apartments, where the distance between each household is close, if devices that have not been onboarded are registered in bulk, onboarding for appliances in other households can be performed simultaneously.

[0100] Additionally, onboarding of an electronic device does not occur when the electronic device is powered on, but rather requires a set procedure (e.g., pressing a specific button for a preset amount of time) to be performed to onboard the electronic device, so that each electronic device can proceed with the onboarding procedure.

[0101] Therefore, the present disclosure describes a method for easily onboarding multiple electronic devices, taking into account the aforementioned situations. Below, the basic overall onboarding operation is described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0102] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of providing onboarding information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0103] Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic system includes an access point (20), a user terminal (10), a first electronic device (100-1), and a second electronic device (100-2).

[0104] In the following, for ease of explanation, it is assumed that the first electronic device (100-1) and the second electronic device (100-2) have entered a state for onboarding, and that each electronic device (100-1, 100-2) stores key information.

[0105] For example, the two operations described above are performed by an installer installing an electronic device in a home, i.e., the operations in FIG. 2 describe the actions performed after the installation operations described above by the installer. The above-described operations of the installer are described later in FIG. 6.

[0106] An access point (20) can enable each electronic device to connect to an external network (or the Internet) or relay connections between other devices in an internal network.

[0107] Such an "access point" may include a device that enables devices to connect to a computer network using Wi-Fi-related standards. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the AP may include a hardware-implemented AP and a software-implemented AP.

[0108] For example, an AP can relay data between wireless devices and wired devices on a network. However, this is not limited to this; an AP can also relay data between wired devices or between wireless devices. Meanwhile, an AP may also be referred to as a relay device, a wireless router, or the like.

[0109] The user terminal device (10) may have a history of being connected to the currently used access point (20), or may be a device connected to the access point (①). When onboarding two electronic devices (100-1, 100-2) using such a user terminal device (10), the user terminal device (10) may establish a connection with one of the two devices.

[0110] Such a connection can be established by either one of the two electronic devices operating in AP mode, or by the user pressing a specific key on either of the two devices. The illustrated example assumes that a connection is established with the first electronic device (100-1).

[0111] When a connection is established between the user terminal device (10) and the first electronic device (100-1), the user terminal device (10) can transmit information required for onboarding (hereinafter, onboarding information) to the first electronic device (100-1) (③).

[0112] Here, the "onboarding information" may include at least one of AP connection information and user account information. The AP connection information is information required for connection to an access point, and may include the SSID (ServiceSetIdentifier) ​​of the access point, security setting information of the access point, and password information corresponding to the security setting. In implementation, the AP connection information described above may include the above-described information for one access point, or may include the above-described information for multiple access points.

[0113] Here, the 'security setting information' refers to the supplementary method used by the access point, for example, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), WPA (WiFi Protected Access), WPA-PSK, EAP, 802.1x, etc. In addition, the form (format) of the password required for each security setting may be different, and the password information described above may have a form that suits the corresponding security setting.

[0114] This AP connection information may also be referred to as access point information, Wi-Fi connection information, or Internet connection information. In the present disclosure, two types of AP connection information may be used: the first is information required for access point connection, as described above, and the other is information for establishing wireless connections between electronic devices. For clarity, the latter will be referred to simply as "connection information" below.

[0115] "User account information" may be a user ID and password for server access, or token information for server access. Here, "token information" refers to specific data (or keys) generated through token-based authentication, typically consisting of a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. This user account information may also be referred to as login information, IoT account information, manufacturer account information, or token information.

[0116] The first electronic device (100-1) that has acquired onboarding information in this manner can provide the onboarding information to the second electronic device (100-2) (④). At this time, the first electronic device (100-1) can verify the second electronic device (100-2) by comparing key information, etc. (②). That is, if the first electronic device (100-1) and the second electronic device (100-2) have the same key, they can identify that they are devices of the same owner (or in the same location) and share the onboarding information described above.

[0117] When onboarding information is shared across both devices, each electronic device can individually perform the onboarding process using the acquired onboarding information. Specifically, each electronic device can establish a connection with an access point based on the AP connection information contained in the onboarding information (⑤, ⑥).

[0118] At this time, if the AP connection information includes information on multiple access points, each electronic device (100-1, 100-2) can determine an access point to use based on the signal strength of each access point and establish a connection with the determined access point.

[0119] Each electronic device (100-1, 100-2) can then proceed with the server registration process based on the account information contained in the onboarding information. If the user does not have a server account, and the transmitted onboarding information does not include account information, the server registration process described above may be omitted.

[0120] Meanwhile, although the above illustrates the onboarding procedure for two electronic devices, the above-described operation may be applied to three or more electronic devices when implemented.

[0121] In this way, according to the present disclosure, a user can proceed with the onboarding procedure for multiple electronic devices by providing onboarding information for only one electronic device.

[0122] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0123] Referring to FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) may include a communication device (110), a memory (120), and a processor (130). The electronic device (100) of FIG. 3 may operate as the first electronic device illustrated in FIG. 2, and may also operate as the second electronic device illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0124] The communication device (110) is a component that performs communication with an external device. The communication device (110) may include a Wi-Fi module. Here, the communication module may be implemented in the form of at least one hardware chip.

[0125] Meanwhile, in the implementation, in addition to the Wi-Fi module, it may have a wireless communication module capable of two-way communication with other electronic devices, such as a Bluetooth module, Zigbee, 3G (3rd Generation), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE Advanced), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), as well as a wired communication module such as a LAN.

[0126] The communication device (110) can operate in two communication modes. Here, the communication mode can include AP mode and station mode.

[0127] Here, 'station mode' refers to an operation of connecting to an access point, and can be connected to the access point (20) described above, or to another electronic device operating in AP mode.

[0128] "AP mode" is a wireless LAN client that implements the role of a wireless access point (AP) in software, allowing direct connection with other electronic devices. This AP mode can also be referred to as SoftAP mode, tethering mode, hotspot mode, or virtual router mode.

[0129] The communication device (110) can perform an operation of alternately changing both the AP mode and the station described above in order to share the onboarding information described later.

[0130] The communication device (110) can establish a wireless connection with an access point. Furthermore, the communication device (110) can communicate with other electronic devices. For example, when operating in AP mode, the communication device (110) can establish a connection with another electronic device requesting a connection. Conversely, when operating in station mode, the communication device (110) can request a connection from an electronic device operating in AP mode to establish a wireless connection.

[0131] Once such a wireless connection is established, the communication device (110) can receive onboarding information from another electronic device or provide the acquired onboarding information to another electronic device. For example, if the electronic device (100) operates as the first electronic device (100-1) of FIG. 2, the communication device (110) can receive onboarding information from the user terminal and provide the onboarding information to the second electronic device (100-2).

[0132] The memory (120) may be implemented as an internal memory such as a ROM (e.g., an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) or RAM included in the processor (130), or may be implemented as a separate memory from the processor (130).

[0133] In this case, the memory (120) may be implemented in the form of memory embedded in the electronic device (100) or in the form of memory that can be attached or detached from the electronic device (100) depending on the purpose of data storage. For example, data for driving the electronic device (100) may be stored in a memory embedded in the electronic device (100), and data for expanding the functions of the electronic device (100) may be stored in a memory that can be attached or detached from the electronic device (100).

[0134] The memory (120) stores information about connected access points or access points with a connection history. The information about the access point may include SSID, security method, password information, etc., as described above. Such information about the access point may be included in the acquired onboarding information.

[0135] The memory (120) can store received onboarding information. Such onboarding information may be received through a user terminal device or from another electronic device.

[0136] The memory (120) may include a series of instructions necessary for operating the electronic device. Here, one of the instructions may be an instruction (or application) for an operation of the present disclosure (i.e., sharing onboarding information), an instruction for an onboarding operation (e.g., connecting to Wi-Fi or registering with a server), an instruction for performing an IoT function, etc.

[0137] Meanwhile, in the case of memory embedded in the electronic device (100), it may be implemented as at least one of volatile memory (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM)), non-volatile memory (e.g., one time programmable ROM (OTPROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), mask ROM, flash ROM, flash memory (e.g., NAND flash or NOR flash), hard drive, or solid state drive (SSD)), and in the case of memory that can be attached or detached to the electronic device (100), it may be implemented as a memory card (e.g., compact flash (CF), secure digital (SD), micro secure digital (Micro-SD), mini secure digital (Mini-SD), extreme digital (xD), multi-media card (MMC), etc.), external memory that can be connected to a USB port (e.g., USB memory), etc. there is.

[0138] The processor (130) can perform overall control operations of the electronic device (100). Specifically, the processor (130) has a function of controlling the overall operations of the electronic device (100).

[0139] The processor (130) may be implemented as a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, or a time controller (TCON) that processes digital signals. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller, an application processor (AP), a graphics-processing unit (GPU), a communication processor (CP), or an ARM processor, or may be defined by the relevant terminology.

[0140] In addition, the processor (130) may be implemented as a SoC (System on Chip), LSI (Large Scale Integration) with a built-in processing algorithm, or may be implemented in the form of an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). In addition, the processor (130) may perform various functions by executing computer executable instructions stored in memory.

[0141] Meanwhile, although FIG. 2 illustrates that the electronic device (100) includes only one processor, it may include multiple processors (e.g., CPU + GPU, CPU + DSP) when implemented.

[0142] The processor (130) performs basic operations of a preset electronic device before onboarding information is acquired.

[0143] Afterwards, when a preset event (for example, when an onboarding procedure progress command is input), a procedure for acquiring onboarding information can be performed. Such a preset event may be an event in which a button among the operating devices (240) described below is pressed for a preset period of time or longer.

[0144] For example, the onboarding procedure in the present disclosure may proceed in two steps. The first step is to obtain key information and search for other devices using the key information, and the second step is to share onboarding information.

[0145] First, when a preset event is input as described above, key information can be input through a communication device (110). The processor (130) can store the input key information in the memory (120).

[0146] At this time, the 'key information' is a unique value provided by the installer, and the key information is a unique value for a specific address, and may be a random value or address information.

[0147] Additionally, the aforementioned key information, cycle information, sequence information, the total number of electronic devices undergoing the onboarding process, and information on other electronic devices may be provided together. Here, the number of devices and information on other electronic devices may be identified during a subsequent search process.

[0148] Here, "cycle information" refers to the time information used to determine the operating time of each electronic device in AP mode. For example, the cycle information may be the time information for each electronic device to operate in AP mode once, or it may be the time information for each electronic device to maintain AP mode.

[0149] Furthermore, the "order information" refers to the order in which the electronic device will operate as a soft AP, and a different number can be assigned to each electronic device. Meanwhile, during implementation, only one of multiple electronic devices can be fixed to operate as a soft AP. Furthermore, using the above-described order information, a method of transmitting onboarding information in a 1:1 manner according to the order is also possible. Various sharing methods are described later in FIGS. 13 to 15.

[0150] As described above, when period information and sequence information are obtained, the processor (130) can control the communication device (110) to operate in AP mode or station mode based on the period information and sequence information.

[0151] Accordingly, multiple electronic devices can operate in AP mode at the time corresponding to their respective turns, and in station mode at the remaining times. When the communication device operates in AP mode, other electronic devices will request connection to the current electronic device (100). Through this process, key information stored by other electronic devices (100) can be verified, thereby identifying the electronic devices with which onboarding information will be shared. In other words, it is possible to determine how many electronic devices require sharing, etc.

[0152] The communication device (110) can receive onboarding information from the user terminal device (10). For example, the electronic device connected to the user terminal device (10) may be an electronic device operating in AP mode at that time. Alternatively, it may be an electronic device that the user directly controls to operate in AP mode by pressing a preset button on the electronic device.

[0153] When onboarding information is received in this manner, the processor (130) can control the communication device (110) to provide the received onboarding information to another electronic device. For example, if the communication device (110) is operating in AP mode, and other electronic devices have requested a connection to the current electronic device and a connection has been established, the processor (130) can control the communication device (110) to provide onboarding information to the other electronic device through the established wireless connection.

[0154] Meanwhile, when the communication device (110) is operating in station mode, the processor (130) can control the communication device (110) to wirelessly connect to another electronic device operating in AP mode and provide the acquired onboarding information to the other electronic device while operating in AP mode. In this case, the other electronic device currently operating in AP mode can provide the acquired onboarding information to the remaining electronic devices.

[0155] Once onboarding information is acquired in this manner, the processor (130) can perform an onboarding procedure based on the onboarding information. Specifically, if the communication device (110) is operating in AP mode, the processor (130) can switch to station mode and establish a connection with an access point using AP connection information within the onboarding information.

[0156] At this time, if the AP connection information includes information on multiple access points, the signal strengths of the multiple access points can be checked using the multiple access point information, and a connection can be established with one of the multiple access points based on the checked signal strength. Even in this case, the processor (130) can also store information on the remaining access points in memory.

[0157] And the onboarding information includes user account information, and the processor (130) can proceed with the registration process on the server based on the account information.

[0158] Meanwhile, although the above-described onboarding procedure is described below as being performed after onboarding information is shared across all devices, the implementation may be such that the onboarding procedure is performed immediately after onboarding information is acquired, and it may also be such that it operates differently depending on the communication mode.

[0159] That is, while the electronic device (100) is operating in AP mode, it can continuously perform a procedure for providing an onboarding procedure to another electronic device, and can perform the above-described onboarding procedure at a time when the other electronic device needs to operate in AP mode. Meanwhile, when operating in station mode, if the above-described onboarding information is acquired, the onboarding procedure can be performed based on the acquired onboarding information.

[0160] In this respect, the onboarding procedure in this disclosure broadly refers to establishing a Wi-Fi connection, and more specifically, it includes the Wi-Fi connection and server registration procedures. Alternatively, during implementation, only the server registration procedure may be referred to as the onboarding procedure.

[0161] After the above-described onboarding procedure, when an information provision or control command is input from a user terminal device or server, the processor (130) can perform an operation corresponding to the request.

[0162] Such information provision may be status information of the electronic device (100), and the control command may be a control command related to a specific function of the electronic device (100). For example, if the electronic device is a refrigerator, it may be a command to change the set temperature value of the refrigerator compartment within the refrigerator, and if it is a robot vacuum cleaner, it may be a cleaning command, etc.

[0163] As described above, the electronic device (100) according to the present embodiment provides onboarding information to other electronic devices, so that the onboarding procedure for multiple electronic devices can be easily and quickly performed.

[0164] Meanwhile, while only a simple configuration of the electronic device (100) has been illustrated and described above, various additional configurations may be provided during implementation. This will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0165] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0166] Referring to FIG. 4, the electronic device (100) may include a communication device (110), a memory (120), a processor (130), a display (140), and an operating device (150).

[0167] The communication device (110), memory (120), and processor (130) have been described above with reference to FIG. 3, and only the parts that are different from those described above will be described below.

[0168] The display (140) displays a user interface window for selecting a function supported by the electronic device (100). Specifically, the display (140) may display a user interface window for selecting various functions provided by the electronic device (100). The display (140) may be a monitor such as an LCD (liquid crystal display), an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), etc., and may also be implemented as a touch screen capable of simultaneously performing some functions of the operating device (240) described below.

[0169] The display (140) may display notification information indicating that an onboarding procedure is required if the onboarding procedure has not been performed. In this case, the notification information may include explanatory information for performing the onboarding procedure.

[0170] The display (140) can display the progress of an onboarding procedure while it is in progress. For example, if a command to proceed with the onboarding procedure is input via the operating device (240) described below, a message or notification indicating that the onboarding procedure is in progress can be displayed. In this case, the notification described above can be information displayed on a monitor or a change in the display color of an LED capable of displaying multiple colors.

[0171] The operating device (150) can receive input from the user for selecting a function of the electronic device (100) and a control command for the function. The operating device (150) may be a keyboard, mouse, touch pad, etc., and may also include a microphone for receiving the user's voice input.

[0172] The operating device (150) may include a button formed on one side of the surface of the electronic device. Such a button may be a button for performing a specific function, but if the button is pressed for a preset time or longer before onboarding, it may be treated as a command input for onboarding progress.

[0173] Accordingly, the processor (130) can determine that a command for onboarding execution is entered when a preset button is pressed for a certain period of time, and control the communication device (110) to operate in AP mode. Meanwhile, in the above, it was considered that an onboarding command was entered when a specific button was pressed for a preset period of time, but this can be implemented through a combination of multiple keys, and may also be a dedicated button for entering an onboarding command.

[0174] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0175] Referring to FIG. 5, the user terminal device (200) may include a communication device (210), a memory (220), a display (230), an operating device (240), and a processor (250).

[0176] The user terminal device (200) of FIG. 5 may be a terminal of an installation technician described later, or may be a terminal of a user providing onboarding information to an electronic device in FIG. 2.

[0177] The communication device (210) is a configuration that performs communication with various types of external devices according to various types of communication methods. The communication device (210) may include a first communication device (211) and a second communication device (215).

[0178] The first communication device (211) communicates with an access point and may utilize a Wi-Fi module. The communication device (211) can establish a wireless connection with the access point. Through this operation, the communication device (211) can check the channel information of the corresponding access point.

[0179] The second communication device (215) is a device that performs two-way communication with another electronic device, and may include at least one communication chip that performs communication according to various wireless communication standards such as a Bluetooth module, Zigbee, 3G (3rd Generation), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE Advanced), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), etc.

[0180] The communication device (210) can communicate with an electronic device. Once such a wireless connection is established, the communication device (210) can provide onboarding information to the electronic device. For example, while FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate providing onboarding information using a first communication device (210), implementation may also utilize a second communication device (215), i.e., a P2P communication method such as Bluetooth or Zigbee.

[0181] The communication device (210) may further include a wired communication module that performs communication using a LAN (Local Area Network) module, an Ethernet module, a pair cable, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber cable, or a UWB (Ultra Wide-Band) module.

[0182] The communication device (210) can receive key information from the server. For this operation, the communication device (210) can provide address information to the server and receive key information corresponding to the address information.

[0183] The communication device (210) can receive user account information from the server. For example, if the account information described above is token information, the communication device (210) can transmit a user ID and password, etc. to the server and receive token information in response.

[0184] The memory (220) stores information about connected access points or access points with a connection history. Here, the information about the access point may include SSID, security method, password information, etc., as described above.

[0185] The memory (220) stores user account information. In addition, the memory (220) can store onboarding information including at least one of AP connection information and user account information generated based on the above-described access point information.

[0186] Such onboarding information can be created and temporarily stored when the onboarding information needs to be shared, or it can be created in advance, stored in advance, and provided to an electronic device when the onboarding information needs to be shared.

[0187] The memory (220) can store key information. For example, when the user terminal device (200) is used by an installation technician, key information obtained through a server or the like can be stored. Meanwhile, during implementation, the key information described above may not be obtained from the server, but may be generated and used in the user terminal device.

[0188] The display (230) displays a user interface window for selecting a function supported by the user terminal device (200). Specifically, the display (230) can display a user interface window for selecting various functions provided by the user terminal device (200). The display (230) may be a monitor such as an LCD (liquid crystal display), an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), etc., and may also be implemented as a touch screen capable of simultaneously performing some functions of the operating device (240) described below.

[0189] The display (230) can display address information. Furthermore, the display (230) can display electronic devices to which key information will be provided. User interface windows that can be displayed on the display (230) are described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 and 11.

[0190] The operating device (240) can receive function selections and control commands for the corresponding functions from the user terminal device (200). The operating device (240) may be a keyboard, mouse, touch pad, etc., and may also include a microphone for receiving the user's voice input.

[0191] The operating device (240) can receive address information or a command to select a device to provide key information.

[0192] The processor (250) can perform overall control operations of the user terminal device (200). The configuration example of the processor (250) is the same as the processor of FIG. 2, and only the detailed operations of the processor (250) will be described below.

[0193] Meanwhile, the user terminal device (200) according to the present disclosure can be operated from the perspective of an installation technician or the owner of the electronic device. While the above operations have been described and illustrated as being performed by an installation technician, they can also be performed by a user during implementation. First, the operations in the above case will be described.

[0194] An installer can install multiple electronic devices in a space where a specific user resides and obtain key information through a user terminal device (200). At this time, when the installer inputs address information where the electronic devices are installed, the processor (250) controls the communication device (210) to transmit the input address information to the server, and obtain key information in response to the transmission of the above-described address information.

[0195] Meanwhile, the above example illustrates obtaining key information through a server. This is intended to generate different key information for each address. However, implementation may also involve the processor (250) generating and utilizing random values ​​without communicating with the server.

[0196] In this way, once the installer has obtained the key information and established the initial settings (i.e., the onboarding procedure progress command) on each installed electronic device, each electronic device can be put into a state where it broadcasts information that onboarding is required.

[0197] The processor (250) can control the first communication device (211) to operate in AP mode. At this time, the processor (250) can cause the first communication device (211) to have a preset SSID. For example, an electronic device may know in advance that a specific network ID is an installation technician's terminal when the product is released. Accordingly, the processor (250) can control the first communication device (211) to operate as an AP having the aforementioned SSID so that each electronic device can recognize that it is an installation technician's user terminal.

[0198] When each electronic device is connected through this process, the processor (250) can collect information on each electronic device and control the display (230) to display a list of electronic devices based on the collected information.

[0199] The processor (250) can provide key information to each electronic device. At this time, the processor (250) can control the first communication device (211) to transmit sequence information and period information along with the key information. In addition, the processor (250) can control the first communication device (211) to transmit connection information, etc.

[0200] The processor (250) can then provide the communication device with information about the searched electronic device or the electronic device for which key information has been provided, so that the server can be informed of new devices to be added in advance, and can inform the user of information about devices that have not been onboarded due to power off, etc., during the subsequent user onboarding process.

[0201] An electronic device that has received key information in this manner can be put into a state for receiving onboarding information as described above in FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0202] Afterwards, the user of the electronic device (100) can run an application for server registration.

[0203] Accordingly, the processor (250) can control the display (230) to display a currently connectable electronic device among a plurality of electronic devices. When the user selects one of the displayed electronic devices, the processor (250) can control the communication device (210) to provide onboarding information to the electronic device selected by the user.

[0204] Meanwhile, prior to the above-described operation, the processor (250) may access the home server based on the user ID and password through communication with the server, obtain the corresponding account information and other token information, and store them in memory. Furthermore, the processor may include this token information in the onboarding information and provide it to the electronic device (100).

[0205] An electronic device that has received such onboarding information can share the onboarding information through communication with other electronic devices as described above, and an onboarding procedure can be performed using the provided onboarding information.

[0206] As described above, the user terminal according to the present disclosure performs an operation that provides onboarding information for only one electronic device. However, the electronic devices described above share onboarding information with each other, allowing onboarding procedures to be performed for multiple electronic devices. Furthermore, during the above-described process, the onboarding information is shared only between electronic devices with the same key information, leaving no room for additional electronic devices owned by the user to be added during the above-described process.

[0207] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a sharing operation of key information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0208] Referring to FIG. 6, the user terminal device (30) of the installation technician obtains key information from the server (S610). Specifically, the user terminal device (30) can input address information, provide the input address information to the server, and receive key information corresponding to the address information.

[0209] Here, "key information" is a unique key value for a specific address. It can be a random value or a random value generated using address information as a seed. This key information can be newly generated each time, or a fixed value can be stored for a specific address and used repeatedly.

[0210] Once key information is obtained in this manner, the installer can press a preset button on each of the installed electronic devices (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4) to enable input of onboarding information.

[0211] When wireless communication of each electronic device is activated by button settings in this way, the user terminal device (30) can operate in AP mode. At this time, the network ID in AP mode can have a network SSID that allows each electronic device to recognize that it is the user terminal device of the installation technician.

[0212] When multiple electronic devices (100-1, 100-2) are connected to a user terminal device (30) in this way, the user terminal device (30) can provide key information to each electronic device (S620). At this time, the user terminal device (30) can transmit key information, sequence information, and period information to each electronic device. In addition, the user terminal device can also transmit connection information to each electronic device.

[0213] At this time, the user terminal device (30) may transmit sequence information corresponding to the order in which the user terminal device (30) is connected, or may transmit sequence information determined in another manner.

[0214] Here, "connection information" refers to information (e.g., a password) regarding how electronic devices will recognize each other and how the connection will be established when establishing a wireless connection. This connection information can be predetermined by the manufacturer and included in the electronic device. Alternatively, the method described above, provided by the user terminal device during the aforementioned process, can be utilized.

[0215] Additionally, it is also possible to generate and use an SSID and password based on the transmitted key information by each electronic device without providing separate connection information.

[0216] In this way, electronic devices (100) that have received key information and sequence information operate alternately in AP mode and station mode based on the input sequence information.

[0217] For example, if the first electronic device (100-1) is the first in the sequence, the first electronic device (100-1) can operate in AP mode first, and the remaining electronic devices can operate in station mode.

[0218] At this time, the second to fourth electronic devices can be connected to the first electronic device (100-1) (S930).

[0219] Accordingly, the first electronic device (100-1) can know all electronic devices, and at this time, by checking the key information of each electronic device, can know the devices with which onboarding information will be shared.

[0220] Figures 7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating examples of user interface windows that may be displayed on a user terminal device. Specifically, Figures 7 to 9 illustrate various examples of user interface windows that can be used by an installation technician.

[0221] Referring to FIG. 7, the user interface window (700) may include an address area (710), a key generation area (720), and a device addition area (730).

[0222] The address field (710) may be the address of the location where the electronic self-driving system is currently installed. For example, if the location is an apartment, it may include information on the apartment building and apartment number to distinguish it from other homes. This address field (710) can be entered directly by the user, or it can be automatically filled in using information included in the delivery list.

[0223] The key generation area (720) is an area where a command for generating a key is input. When the key generation area (720) is selected, the user terminal device can provide the address information of the address area (710) to the server and receive and store key information from the server.

[0224] Meanwhile, during implementation, the key generation area (720) may be used as an area for receiving a key transmission command. For example, when an application is launched, key information is automatically generated and provided to the user terminal device, and when the user selects the key generation area (720), an operation for providing key information to the electronic device may be performed.

[0225] The device addition area (730) is an area where commands for searching for new, undiscovered electronic devices are entered. When the device addition area (730) is selected, the user terminal device can operate in AP mode, and in AP mode, the SSID can contain information that allows the electronic device to identify the AP as the user terminal device of the installer.

[0226] In this state, the installer can press a preset button or other button on the new electronic device to enable each electronic device to perform the onboarding procedure. Accordingly, each electronic device becomes an electronic device capable of performing the onboarding procedure, and when connection with the user terminal device is established, a user terminal device such as that shown in FIG. 8 may be displayed.

[0227] Referring to FIG. 8, the user interface window (800) may include an address area (810), a key generation area (820), a device addition area (830), and a device list area (840).

[0228] The address area (810), key generation area (820), and device addition area (830) are the same as those illustrated in Fig. 7, so redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0229] The device list area (840) is an area that lists and displays the searched electronic devices. When the user terminal device establishes a wireless connection with newly installed electronic devices, the user terminal device can identify the type of each electronic device through the wireless connection and display the identified type in the device list area (840).

[0230] For this operation, each electronic device can transmit its own model name and display the device type based on the model name transmitted from the user terminal, or each electronic device can transmit information about the device type and the user terminal can display the transmitted device type as is. In implementation, model names, model numbers, etc., may be displayed instead of the device type, and additional information may be displayed in addition to a single piece of information.

[0231] At this time, the devices displayed may be connected in the order in which they are connected to the user terminal. For example, in the illustrated example, the kimchi refrigerator may be connected first, followed by the air conditioner.

[0232] In this order, the user terminal device can determine the sequence number for each electronic device, and can transmit sequence number information, cycle information, etc. together with the key information described below. For example, in the illustrated example, if six devices are found, the kimchi refrigerator can be provided with the sequence number 1 and cycle information of 60 minutes, and the air conditioner can be provided with the sequence number 2 and cycle information of 60 minutes.

[0233] In such an environment, when a user selects a key issuance area (820), the user terminal device can transmit key information to each electronic device. The user interface window that can be displayed accordingly is as shown in FIG. 9.

[0234] Referring to FIG. 9, the user interface window (900) may include an address area (910), a key generation area (920), a device addition area (930), and a device list area (940).

[0235] The address area (910) and key generation area (920) are the same as those illustrated in Fig. 7, so redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0236] The device list area (940) is an area that lists and displays electronic devices to which key information has been transmitted. As this process progresses, each electronic device can be enabled to receive onboarding information, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0237] At this time, the user terminal device (200) can provide information about the electronic device described above to the server.

[0238] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an operation of providing onboarding information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0239] In the following, it is assumed that among the four electronic devices, the second electronic device (100-2) is operating in AP mode, the remaining electronic devices (100-1, 100-2, 100-4) are operating in station mode, and the user terminal device initially provides onboarding information to the first electronic device (100-1).

[0240] First, the user can establish a wireless connection with one of the plurality of electronic devices (i.e., the first electronic device (100-1)) and provide onboarding information to the first electronic device (100-1) through the established wireless connection (S1010).

[0241] The first electronic device (100-1) that has received such onboarding information can terminate the connection with the user terminal device and establish a connection with the second electronic device (100-2) currently operating in AP mode (S1021).

[0242] And the first electronic device (100-1) can provide onboarding information to the second electronic device (100-2).

[0243] After transmission of such onboarding information, the first electronic device (100-1) is not operating in AP mode, and can immediately perform an operation to establish a connection with an access point and a server registration procedure using the AP connection information included in the onboarding information (S1031).

[0244] Meanwhile, the second electronic device (100-2) operating in AP mode can provide the acquired onboarding information by utilizing the established wireless connection with the third electronic device (100-3) and the fourth electronic device (100-4) in order to share the acquired onboarding information. Meanwhile, the establishment of such wireless connection between the third and fourth electronic devices may be established in advance before the acquisition of the onboarding information through the first electronic device (100-1) because the second electronic device (100-2) is currently operating in AP mode.

[0245] In this way, when the third electronic device (100-3) and the fourth electronic device (100-4) receive onboarding information, the onboarding procedure can be performed based on the provided onboarding information (S1032, S1033).

[0246] Meanwhile, since the second electronic device (100-2) is currently operating in AP mode, the onboarding procedure is not performed immediately after obtaining onboarding information, but the onboarding procedure can be performed only after providing onboarding information to all electronic devices or when switching from AP mode to station mode (S1034).

[0247] When the registration procedure is completed through the onboarding procedure of each electronic device, the server (3) can perform an operation of providing the registration fact to the user terminal device (10).

[0248] In this way, in the present disclosure, a user can complete the onboarding procedure for multiple electronic devices by sharing onboarding information for multiple electronic devices with only an action of providing onboarding information to one electronic device.

[0249] FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an example of a user interface window displayed on a display of a user terminal device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0250] Referring to FIG. 11, the user interface window (1100) may include an information area (1110), a confirmation area (1120), a cancel area (1130), a first device information area (1140), and a second device information area (1150).

[0251] The information area (1110) is an area that displays a message notifying that the onboarding process can now proceed.

[0252] The confirmation area (1120) is an area for entering an onboarding command for the electronic device shown in the first device information area (1140). When the user selects the confirmation area (1120), the user terminal device can provide onboarding information to any one of the devices shown in the first device information area (1140).

[0253] The cancellation area (1030) is an area where a command to terminate the above-described onboarding procedure is input.

[0254] The first device information area (1040) displays devices that are currently powered and ready for onboarding. This device identification can be obtained by connecting to an electronic device currently operating in AP mode, or by utilizing information about devices that have requested connection while the user terminal is operating in AP mode.

[0255] The second device information area (1050) displays a list of electronic devices experiencing power-related issues. Specifically, as described above, during the process of providing initial key information to each electronic device, the server can identify the electronic devices that received the key information. Accordingly, when a user terminal device connects to the server for onboarding, the server can provide the user terminal device with information about the devices to be onboarded.

[0256] In this case, the user terminal device can list electronic devices that are currently unconnectable among the received device information in the second device information area (1050).

[0257] Such indications allow users to easily identify unpowered devices and ensure that no electronic devices are missed during the onboarding process.

[0258] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a communication mode in each electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0259] Referring to Figure 12, the points at which each of the multiple electronic devices operates in AP mode over time are indicated by hatching. In the illustrated table, when AP mode is not indicated, it is operating in station mode.

[0260] That is, at the first point in time, the first electronic device (100-1) operates in AP mode, and the remaining electronic devices operate in station mode. After a certain period of time, the second electronic device (100-2) operates in AP mode, and the remaining electronic devices operate in station mode.

[0261] In the present disclosure, a plurality of electronic devices sequentially perform the role of a hub, and one electronic device sequentially operates in AP mode as described above.

[0262] Specifically, let's assume that a single device is permanently configured to operate in AP mode. In this case, sharing onboarding information can be performed substantially as illustrated in Figure 13, described below, so there is no problem with sharing onboarding information. However, if a device designated to operate in AP mode experiences a problem, sharing onboarding information may become difficult. In this regard, the present disclosure employs a method in which each electronic device performs a hub operation, independently performing the sharing operation in sequence.

[0263] Meanwhile, in FIG. 12, the time for which each electronic device operates in AP mode can be determined by the period information provided at the time the key information is provided. This period information can be used in two ways. Specifically, the first period can be time information for the period until all devices sequentially perform AP mode from the first to the last device in the sequence, and the second period can be information regarding the period for which each electronic device maintains AP mode.

[0264] For example, when the first cycle is used, the user terminal device can provide each electronic device with a sequence number and a total cycle (e.g., time information of 60 minutes, and also start time information). In this case, the first electronic device (100-1) of the first sequence can know the time of 60 / 4 = 15 minutes by dividing the total number of devices from the cycle information. That is, the first electronic device (100-1) can operate in AP mode from 9:00 to 9:15.

[0265] In the above manner, the remaining devices can also be informed that they should operate in station mode from 9:00 to 9:15.

[0266] At the next time, the second electronic device (100-2), which is the next turn, can determine, based on the aforementioned period information and turn number, that it should operate in AP mode. Accordingly, at 9:15, the second electronic device (100-2) can switch its communication mode from station mode to AP mode. In response, the first electronic device (100-1) can switch its communication mode from AP mode to station mode.

[0267] Each electronic device can perform this switching of communication modes repeatedly according to the cycle described above.

[0268] In the process of switching communication modes like this, if any one of the multiple electronic devices acquires onboarding information, the onboarding information can be shared using a method like that shown in FIG. 13 described below.

[0269] Meanwhile, although the illustrated example shows a configuration in which only one of the four devices operates in AP mode, it is also possible for multiple devices to operate in AP mode together during implementation. For example, it is possible to alternately switch communication modes in two groups, such as when the sequence information is an odd number and when it is an even number. Alternatively, it is also possible for electronic devices corresponding to a preset integer multiple to operate in AP mode. For example, if 20 electronic devices share onboarding information, the integer described above can be 5, which means that electronic devices corresponding to sequence numbers 1, 6, 11, and 16 can operate in AP mode simultaneously, and the remaining electronic devices can operate in station mode.

[0270] Additionally, although the illustrated example illustrates the exchange of onboarding information for a relatively small number of electronic devices, exchange of onboarding information for a large number of devices is also possible when implemented.

[0271] In this case, the installer may divide multiple electronic devices into multiple groups, and the communication mode described above may be switched on a group-by-group basis.

[0272] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for sharing onboarding information among multiple electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sharing method when one of the multiple electronic devices acts as a hub providing onboarding information.

[0273] Referring to FIG. 13, among multiple electronic devices, the first electronic device (100-1) can perform the role of a hub. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the electronic devices can sequentially switch hub roles.

[0274] In this way, if the first electronic device (100-1) acquires onboarding information through the user terminal device (10) while operating in a hub role, i.e., AP mode (S1310), the first electronic device (100-1) can transmit the acquired onboarding information to other electronic devices (100-2, 100-3, 100-4) (S1320, S1330, S1340).

[0275] Through this process, all electronic devices (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4) can obtain onboarding information. Furthermore, each electronic device (100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4) can proceed with the onboarding process using the obtained onboarding information.

[0276] Meanwhile, in the illustrated example, it is assumed that the first electronic device (100-1) obtains the initial onboarding information, but when implemented, the initial onboarding information can be obtained by the second to fourth electronic devices (100-2, 100-3, 100-4).

[0277] For example, let us assume that the user terminal device (10) initially connects to the second electronic device (100-2) and provides onboarding information to the second electronic device (100-2). In this case, the second electronic device (100-2) is operating in station mode and only performs the operation of providing onboarding information to the first electronic device (100-1) operating in AP mode.

[0278] Thereafter, the first electronic device (100-1) can provide the acquired onboarding information to the third electronic device (100-3) and the fourth electronic device (100-4).

[0279] Meanwhile, in the illustrated example, the first electronic device (100-1) is depicted as acting as a hub that provides onboarding information, but when implemented, each electronic device may sequentially act as a hub as illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0280] The reason each of these electronic devices sequentially acts as a hub is because it's assumed that any one of the aforementioned multiple electronic devices may experience an error or be unpowered. In other words, if a fixed electronic device acts as a hub and a malfunction occurs in that electronic device, onboarding information may not be shared. Therefore, in the present disclosure, multiple electronic devices are implemented to sequentially act as hubs, providing onboarding information, as shown in FIG. 12.

[0281] Meanwhile, during implementation, one electronic device may be implemented to act as a hub by default. If a malfunction occurs in the electronic device acting as the hub, the remaining electronic devices may provide onboarding information using a 1:1 transfer method rather than a hub method. Furthermore, a method of providing onboarding information in a 1:1 manner from the beginning may be utilized. Such an example is described below with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.

[0282] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for sharing onboarding information among multiple electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for multiple electronic devices to share onboarding information on a one-to-one basis.

[0283] Referring to FIG. 14, a first electronic device (100-1) among a plurality of electronic devices can obtain onboarding information from a user terminal device (S1410).

[0284] The first electronic device (100-1) that has acquired onboarding information can establish a connection with the second electronic device (100-2) corresponding to the next sequence and provide onboarding information to the second electronic device (100-2) (S1420).

[0285] The first electronic device (100-1) that has completed the operation of providing such onboarding information can proceed with the onboarding procedure.

[0286] Thereafter, the second electronic device (100-2) can establish a connection with the third electronic device (100-3) corresponding to the next sequence and provide onboarding information to the third electronic device (100-3) (S1430). Thereafter, the second electronic device (100-2) can perform the onboarding procedure, and the third electronic device (100-3) can provide onboarding information to the fourth electronic device (100-4) (S1440).

[0287] Afterwards, the third electronic device (100-3) and the fourth electronic device (100-4) can complete the onboarding procedure.

[0288] Meanwhile, in the above description, it is assumed that onboarding information is provided from the user terminal device starting from the first electronic device (100-1) corresponding to the first sequence number, but when implemented, onboarding information may be obtained from an electronic device of a different sequence number (for example, a third electronic device (100-3)) other than the first sequence number.

[0289] In this case, the onboarding information may be transmitted from the third electronic device (100-3) to the fourth electronic device (100-4), then from the fourth electronic device (100-4) to the first electronic device (100-1), and finally from the first electronic device (100-2) to the second electronic device (100-2).

[0290] Additionally, when implemented, each electronic device knows the sequence information of all electronic devices, and accordingly, rather than simply establishing a connection with the electronic device of the next sequence, the above-described sharing operation may be performed through a connection with the electronic device of the next sequence.

[0291] For example, let's assume that in a situation like Fig. 14, power is not supplied to the second electronic device (100-2) or there is an error in communication. In this case, the first electronic device (100-1) first attempts to establish a wireless connection with the second electronic device (100-2), but the wireless connection with the second electronic device (100-2) may not be established for the reasons described above.

[0292] At this time, if the first electronic device (100-1) cannot perform a connection with the second electronic device (100-2) within a preset number of times or a preset time, the first electronic device (100-1) may transmit overboarding information to the third electronic device (100-3) by establishing a connection with the third electronic device (100-3) corresponding to the third priority.

[0293] Meanwhile, while the above description illustrates and describes each electronic device performing only one transmission operation, in implementation, communication is performed in a 1:1 manner, but each electronic device may transmit multiple times. An example of this is described below with reference to FIG. 15.

[0294] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for sharing onboarding information among multiple electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for multiple electronic devices to share onboarding information on a one-to-one basis.

[0295] Referring to FIG. 15, a first electronic device (100-1) among a plurality of electronic devices can obtain onboarding information from a user terminal device (S150).

[0296] The first electronic device (100-1) that has acquired onboarding information can establish a connection with the second electronic device (100-2) corresponding to the next sequence and provide onboarding information to the second electronic device (100-2) (S1520).

[0297] Thereafter, the first electronic device (100-1) can establish a connection with the fourth electronic device (100-4) corresponding to the last sequence number and provide onboarding information to the fourth electronic device (100-4).

[0298] At this time, the second electronic device (100-2) also has onboarding information, so the second electronic device can establish a connection with the third electronic device (100-3) having the next sequence number and provide onboarding information to the third electronic device (100-3).

[0299] In this way, an electronic device having onboarding information performs an operation of sharing onboarding information multiple times rather than once, so that sharing of onboarding information can be completed more quickly than in the case of FIG. 14.

[0300] While the above example illustrates a scenario where the first device transmits onboarding information to the second priority, and then to the last priority, implementations can utilize various methods for transmitting onboarding information beyond the aforementioned order. This order can be implemented by having each electronic device independently determine which other electronic devices will receive onboarding information based on its known order and the total number of devices to be shared.

[0301] Additionally, at the time when the installation article described above provides key information, the sharing method and sharing transmission method, along with the sharing of the sequence information, may be transmitted to each electronic device and used.

[0302] Additionally, the user terminal device that transmits the initial onboarding information may determine the sharing method and sharing transmission method and share it during the process of transmitting the onboarding information to the initial electronic device.

[0303] Specifically, as explained above, the installer can learn about the devices that require onboarding during the initial key information provision process and can transmit this information to the server.

[0304] Accordingly, when a user terminal device performs a connection with a server to transmit onboarding information, it can know the information of the electronic devices to transmit the onboarding information, determine an efficient transmission method, and provide shared transmission methods together in the process of providing the onboarding information to the first electronic device.

[0305] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sharing key information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0306] Referring to Figure 16, the user terminal first obtains key information (S1610). The installation technician can run the application to enter address information or provide address information included in the delivery information to the server. In this case, the server can generate a unique key value based on the address and provide it to the installation technician.

[0307] Meanwhile, as explained above, during implementation, it is also possible to generate and use random values ​​on the user terminal device without using a server.

[0308] Afterwards, a connection with a new device is performed (S1620). Specifically, the user terminal device operates in AP mode for connection with each electronic device, and while operating in AP mode, a wireless connection can be established with new electronic devices upon a connection request from a new electronic device.

[0309] For this operation, the installer's user terminal device can create an AP with a predefined SSID or use a preset password for accessing that SSID. In other words, each electronic device stores pre-configured connection information (SSID and password) upon shipment, and can establish a wireless connection with the user terminal device based on this connection information.

[0310] Once a wireless connection with a new device is established through this process, the user terminal can provide key information to each new device (S1630). In addition to the key information described above, the user terminal can also provide period information and sequence information. If necessary, the user terminal can also provide information about the shared SSID and shared password separately from the key information.

[0311] For example, to interconnect multiple electronic devices, rules for searching and connecting based on certain information are required. The following four methods can be used for this purpose.

[0312] First, the manufacturer creates and provides connection rules for each electronic device. In this case, since each electronic device generates an SSID and password according to the same connection rules, it's easy to identify other electronic devices that will share onboarding information. However, if a neighboring electronic device is also from the same manufacturer, it will generate and use the SSID and password according to the aforementioned rules. In this case, after a wireless connection, the presence of the same key information can be checked to determine whether the device is capable of performing the aforementioned sharing operation.

[0313] Second, during the process of providing ring information, the user terminal device provides the aforementioned connection information to each electronic device. In this case, unlike the first method, the aforementioned connection information is shared by the current user terminal device, making it less susceptible to being used by other users' electronic devices.

[0314] The third method is a hybrid of the first and second methods, where the manufacturer stores multiple connection methods in advance in each electronic device, and the user terminal device provides only the connection method currently in use to each electronic device.

[0315] Fourth, each electronic device generates and utilizes at least one SSID and password based on key information. In this case, if each electronic device generates the SSID and password in a common manner, each electronic device can easily identify other electronic devices with which it will share onboarding information.

[0316] In the above, various methods for mutual identification between electronic devices have been described, but when implementing, it is possible to use a combination of the above-described methods, and it is also possible to use a method other than the above-described methods.

[0317] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing onboarding information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing onboarding information using a user terminal device by a user who owns multiple electronic devices.

[0318] Referring to FIG. 17, the user terminal device can store onboarding information to be used in the onboarding process of the electronic device (S1710). Here, the onboarding information may include information for connection to an access point, such as the SSID (ServiceSetIdentifier) ​​of the access point, security setting information of the access point, and password information corresponding to the security setting. In addition, user account information for the registration process on the server may be stored.

[0319] The user terminal device can establish a wireless connection with one of a plurality of new electronic devices (S1720). The electronic device may be an electronic device currently operating in AP mode or an electronic device on which the user has performed a preset operation. The preset operation may be a button on a specific electronic device pressed for a preset period of time.

[0320] Additionally, during implementation, the user terminal device (200) may receive information about a new electronic device from the server and establish a wireless connection with one of a plurality of electronic devices based on the received information about the new electronic device. For example, an installer may provide information about a new electronic device to the server during the process of providing key information. In this case, the user terminal device may obtain information about the new electronic device from the server and establish a wireless connection with one electronic device that matches the obtained information about the new electronic device.

[0321] Once a wireless connection is established with an electronic device, the user terminal can provide onboarding information to the electronic device (S1730). The electronic device receiving this onboarding information can share the onboarding information with another electronic device through operations such as those illustrated in FIG. 19, described below.

[0322] As described above, transmission of onboarding information according to the present disclosure is performed for one electronic device, but user convenience can be improved by sharing the onboarding information through sharing the corresponding information between each electronic device.

[0323] FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating another method for identifying an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0324] Referring to Figure 18, the electronic device can receive a command to proceed with the onboarding procedure (S1810). Such a command can be entered through software or via a button located on one side of the electronic device.

[0325] When a command like this is entered, the communication mode can be switched to acquire key information (S1820). Specifically, to search for an AP with a preset SSID, the communication mode can be switched to station mode, the AP with the preset SSID can be searched for, and a wireless connection can be established with the AP. At this time, the SSID and access information for connecting to the SSID (e.g., a password) can be provided to the electronic device as preset values ​​by the manufacturer.

[0326] Once a connection is established with an AP with a preset SSID, key information can be obtained from the AP (S1830). At this time, the electronic device can receive key information, sequence information, and period information. Additionally, the electronic device can also receive information about the shared SSID and shared password.

[0327] Once key information is acquired, the electronic device alternately operates in AP mode or station mode according to the acquired cycle and sequence, and during this process, other electronic devices with the same key information can be identified (S1840). More detailed operations are described later in FIG. 20.

[0328] After identifying another electronic device having key information in this way, the process of switching the communication mode alternately to AP mode or station mode according to the previously acquired cycle and sequence can be maintained (S1850) in order to share onboarding information.

[0329] The method of sharing onboarding information after the process of switching communication modes is described below with reference to FIG. 19.

[0330] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining a control method in an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0331] Referring to FIG. 19, the electronic device acquires onboarding information (S1910). Specifically, the electronic device may acquire onboarding information through a user terminal or through another electronic device.

[0332] For example, if an electronic device is operating in AP mode, it can obtain onboarding information from another electronic device or user terminal operating in station mode. Alternatively, if an electronic device is operating in station mode, it can obtain onboarding information from another electronic device that has key information and is operating in AP mode.

[0333] The electronic device then transmits the acquired onboarding information to another electronic device that has not yet been onboarded among other electronic devices having key information (S1920). If the electronic device is operating in AP mode, another electronic device operating in station mode may request a connection to the current electronic device, thereby establishing a connection, and transmit the onboarding information to the other electronic device operating in station mode that requested the connection.

[0334] At this time, a procedure may be performed to determine whether the electronic device in the station mode that requested the connection has the same ring information. Alternatively, in some cases, the wireless connection may be established only when the device has ring information during the wireless connection process, thereby omitting the procedure for determining whether separate ring information is present. The confirmation of ring information may be performed in advance.

[0335] If the electronic device is operating in station mode, the electronic device can establish a wireless connection by requesting a connection to another electronic device operating in AP mode, and transmit the acquired onboarding information to the other electronic device operating in AP mode.

[0336] Meanwhile, whether the current electronic device operates in AP mode or station mode can be determined based on the period information and sequence information provided as described above in FIG. 12, and a sharing operation suitable for the current operation mode can be performed in the operation mode according to the provided period information and sequence information.

[0337] In other words, if the current electronic device is operating in AP mode, it acts as a hub that provides onboarding information to other electronic devices. On the other hand, if the electronic device is operating in station mode, the current electronic device provides onboarding information only to the electronic device operating in AP mode, and the other electronic devices operating in AP mode that receive this information act as hubs that provide onboarding information.

[0338] The electronic device uses the acquired onboarding information to perform the registration process (S1930). For example, when the onboarding information is acquired from the electronic device, the completion of the sharing of the onboarding information can be confirmed based on the sequence information. Once the sharing of the onboarding information is complete, the communication mode can be switched to station mode, and an access point connection can be established based on the onboarding information. Even in this case, the registration process progress time may vary depending on whether the current electronic device is in AP mode or station mode.

[0339] For example, if onboarding information is acquired while the electronic device is operating in station mode, specifically, if onboarding information is acquired from another electronic device, the onboarding procedure can be performed immediately, and if onboarding information is acquired from a user terminal device, the onboarding procedure can be performed immediately after providing an operation of sharing the onboarding information to another electronic device operating in AP mode.

[0340] On the other hand, if onboarding information is acquired while operating in AP mode, the onboarding procedure may be performed when the onboarding information is fully transmitted to other electronic devices or when the current communication mode is switched from AP mode to station mode, without performing the onboarding procedure immediately.

[0341] As described above, the method for controlling an electronic device according to the present disclosure shares the received onboarding information with other electronic devices, so that a user can perform onboarding procedures for multiple electronic devices by providing only onboarding information for one electronic device without having to perform repetitive onboarding procedures.

[0342] In addition, in the above-described sharing process, multiple electronic devices perform a hub function that sequentially provides onboarding information, so that even if a problem occurs in one of the multiple electronic devices, the remaining devices except for the device in question can fully share onboarding information.

[0343] FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sharing onboarding information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a control method from the initial startup of an electronic device until the onboarding procedure is completed.

[0344] Referring to FIG. 20, when the electronic device starts, the electronic device can check whether it is onboarded (S2005). Here, starting the electronic device may include the electronic device being installed, initially powered on, or undergoing an initialization process.

[0345] In this state, the electronic device can check whether onboarding is currently in progress or whether onboarding information for onboarding has been acquired.

[0346] If onboarding has been performed, i.e., a wireless connection with an access point and server registration have been established, it is possible to check whether key information is stored (S2015). For example, as previously explained, if the current electronic device has performed onboarding but onboarding information has not been acquired from another electronic device, action is required to transmit the onboarding information.

[0347] Accordingly, when key information is stored, a search operation for establishing a wireless connection with another electronic device and an operation for transmitting onboarding information after the connection can be performed (S2020). Afterwards, if the preset time has transmitted onboarding information to another electronic device, the pre-stored key information can be deleted. Here, the preset time may be the time corresponding to the period information provided when transmitting the ring information (for example, the period information (for example, 60 minutes)) itself, or a time obtained by dividing the number of devices preset in the period information (for example, 60 / 10 = 6 minutes), or an integer multiple of the corresponding time (for example, 6*2 = 12 minutes).

[0348] If key information is not stored, the current state can be maintained without any additional action (S2025). Afterwards, depending on the current onboarding state, actions can be taken based on control commands from external devices, or general IoT device actions can be performed, such as providing the current electronic device status to the server.

[0349] If the onboarding state is not reached, the storage of key information is checked (S2010). If key information is not available, the search exposure for key information input can be maintained (S2030). In this state, the electronic device can obtain key information through the operation of the user terminal device as shown in FIG. 16. At this time, the electronic device can receive at least one of sequence information, period information, SSID information, and password information along with the key information.

[0350] If key information is stored, the electronic device verifies the received sequence number (S2035). Depending on the confirmed sequence number, the electronic device may perform a search operation to search for other devices or perform an operation to confirm the connection of other electronic devices. For example, depending on the confirmed sequence number, the electronic device may selectively operate in AP mode or station mode. The specific sequence number verification operation has been previously described in FIG. 12, and a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0351] First, the operation in AP mode is described. In AP mode, it is checked whether onboarding information is stored or whether onboarding information was received from a user terminal (or other electronic device) during the process (S2040).

[0352] If onboarding information is provided as a result of the verification, the onboarding procedure can be performed (S2045). While the onboarding procedure can be performed immediately as illustrated, it can also be performed after onboarding information has been delivered to other electronic devices. For example, the onboarding procedure can be performed when operation in AP mode is terminated.

[0353] If the electronic device does not have onboarding information, the electronic device may be placed in a state where it can be navigated by other electronic devices (S2050).

[0354] Next, the operation in station mode is described. When operating in station mode, the electronic device can check the connectable APs (S2060). During this process, communication is established with each AP (S2065), and it is confirmed whether each AP is an electronic device with the same key as the main body. If an electronic device with the same key is an electronic device, it can be added to the list of electronic devices with which the onboarding operation will be performed together (S2070).

[0355] Such a list may include the SSID of the electronic device and information (e.g., a flag) indicating whether the electronic device is onboarded. That is, each electronic device manages the onboarding information status of other electronic devices through the flag described above, and if all devices are determined to be onboarded, the stored key value can be deleted, thereby terminating operations such as sharing the onboarding information described above.

[0356] Through this process, when other electronic devices sequentially enter AP mode (2075), the electronic device can identify other electronic devices with which it will perform the onboarding operation. Furthermore, since other electronic devices also perform the same operation as in Figure 20, a common list can be created through the aforementioned process.

[0357] Meanwhile, if the electronic device is another listed device, the aforementioned verification process may be omitted, and a process may be performed to verify whether the electronic device stores onboarding information. If the current electronic device stores onboarding information, i.e., if the user connects to the current electronic device and stores onboarding information, the electronic device may provide the onboarding information to the electronic device operating in AP mode instead of station mode.

[0358] In this case, an electronic device operating in AP mode can delete an electronic device providing onboarding information from the aforementioned list. Furthermore, an electronic device operating in AP mode can check the status of onboarding information sharing within the system by providing onboarding information to other electronic devices and deleting the devices that received the onboarding information from the aforementioned list. If it is determined through this process that the sharing of onboarding information for all electronic devices has been completed, the electronic device can also terminate AP mode operation and proceed with the onboarding process using the onboarding information.

[0359] Meanwhile, although the above description illustrates and explains checking other electronic devices in station mode, it is also possible to check other electronic devices in AP mode during implementation.

[0360] That is, when another electronic device requests the establishment of a connection while operating in AP mode, and by verifying mutual key information on the established wireless connection, both the electronic device operating in station mode and the electronic device operating in AP mode can add the other device to the above-described list.

[0361] While the method described above directly checks ring information and adds a list, it's also possible to check ring information during the connection process described above. Specifically, electronic devices with ring information can temporarily create a specific identification number based on the ring information and apply this to the SSID or password to check for ring information during the connection process.

[0362] For example, if there is ring information such as a12345689b, electronic devices with such ring information can share a rule that creates an SSID with a123 by reflecting the first four characters of the ring information, and creates an access password for the SSID with 689b by reflecting the last four characters of the ring information. This method of generating an SSID and password is only one example, and various methods other than the above-described method can be applied.

[0363] Accordingly, an electronic device operating in AP mode creates an SSID starting with a123, and an electronic device operating in station mode can identify that an SSID starting with a123 is an electronic device with the same key information and attempt to connect to that electronic device accordingly. Additionally, during the connection confirmation, the connection can be established using the password described above.

[0364] Meanwhile, although the above description illustrates and describes that both the SSID and password are generated based on ring information, during implementation, only one of the two pieces of information may be generated based on ring information. In addition, rather than generating the SSID and password based on ring information, it is also possible to receive at least one of a separate SSID (shared SSID) and password (specifically, a shared password) during the process of providing ring information described above, and use the provided shared SSID and shared password.

[0365] The above-described operations are performed individually on each electronic device, and each electronic device can obtain onboarding information through the above-described operations and provide the obtained onboarding information to other electronic devices. The method according to the present disclosure shares onboarding information between electronic devices, enabling a user to provide onboarding information to multiple electronic devices by simply providing the onboarding information to only one electronic device.

[0366] In addition, in the process of sharing the above-described onboarding information, the above-described sharing is performed only between electronic devices having key information, thereby preventing electronic devices in other households within a wireless connection-capable distance from unnecessarily receiving onboarding information.

[0367] Meanwhile, the methods according to at least some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure described above may be implemented in the form of an application that can be installed on an existing electronic device.

[0368] Additionally, the methods according to at least some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure described above can be implemented with only a software upgrade or a hardware upgrade for an existing electronic device.

[0369] Additionally, the methods according to at least some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure described above may also be performed through an embedded server provided in an electronic device, or an external server of at least one of the electronic devices.

[0370] Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the various embodiments described above can be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine is a device that can call instructions stored from the storage medium and operate according to the called instructions, and may include an electronic device (e.g., electronic device (A)) according to the disclosed embodiments. When an instruction is executed by a processor, the processor can perform a function corresponding to the instruction directly or by using other components under the control of the processor. The instruction may include code generated or executed by a compiler or an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the 'non-transitory storage medium' only means that it is a tangible device and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), and this term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently and cases where it is temporarily stored in the storage medium. No. For example, a 'non-transitory storage medium' may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored. According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between sellers and buyers as a commodity. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via an application store (e.g., Play Store™) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones).In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable app) may be temporarily stored or temporarily created in a device-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0371] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer). The device may include an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (100)) according to the disclosed embodiments, which is a device capable of calling instructions stored in the storage medium and operating according to the called instructions.

[0372] When the above-described instruction is executed by the processor, the processor may perform the function corresponding to the instruction directly or by utilizing other components under the control of the processor. The instruction may include code generated or executed by a compiler or interpreter.

[0373] Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the gist of the present disclosure as claimed in the claims, and such modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or prospect of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. In electronic devices, communication device; At least one memory storing key information; and Using the onboarding information obtained from the electronic device, the registration procedure for the electronic device is performed, To determine at least one electronic device among other electronic devices having the above key information, the other electronic devices are checked, An electronic device comprising at least one processor for controlling the communication device so that the acquired onboarding information is transmitted to another electronic device that has not been onboarded with the key information among the other identified electronic devices.

2. In paragraph 1, The above key information contains a random value, At least one processor of the above, An electronic device that generates at least one of an SSID and a password based on the random value, and establishes a connection with the other electronic device using at least one of the generated SSID and password.

3. In paragraph 1, The above communication device can operate in AP mode and station mode, At least one processor of the above, An electronic device for controlling the communication device so that the communication device alternately has an AP mode and a station mode.

4. In paragraph 3, At least one processor of the above, When the communication device of the above electronic device is operating in AP mode, onboarding information is obtained from another electronic device or user terminal having a communication device operating in station mode, An electronic device that transmits the acquired onboarding information to at least one electronic device that has been determined not to have acquired onboarding information yet, when the communication device of the electronic device is in station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device that has been determined not to have acquired onboarding information yet, has key information, when the communication device of the electronic device is in AP mode.

5. In paragraph 3, At least one processor of the above, If the communication device of the above electronic device is operating in station mode, the onboarding information is obtained from another electronic device having the key information and having a communication device operating in AP mode, An electronic device that transmits the acquired onboarding information to at least one other electronic device that has key information and does not have onboarding information, when the communication device of the electronic device is operating in station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device that has key information and does not have onboarding information is operating in AP mode.

6. In paragraph 3, At least one of the above memories, Stores periodic information and sequence information, At least one processor of the above, An electronic device that controls the communication device to operate in AP mode at a time corresponding to the above periodic information and sequence information, and controls the communication device to operate in station mode at the remaining time.

7. In paragraph 6, At least one processor of the above, Confirm the completion of sharing of onboarding information based on the above sequence information, An electronic device that controls a communication device of the electronic device to operate in the station mode upon completion of sharing of the above onboarding information, and establishes an access point connection based on the above onboarding information.

8. In paragraph 1, The above onboarding information is: Contains AP connection information including SSID (ServiceSetIdentifier) ​​of the access point, security setting information of the access point, and password information corresponding to the security setting information, At least one processor of the above, An electronic device that establishes a connection with an access point based on the above AP connection information.

9. In paragraph 8, The above onboarding information is: Include more user account information, At least one processor of the above, An electronic device that performs a registration procedure of the electronic device on an external server using the user account information when the connection with the access point is established.

10. In paragraph 1, The above key information is, An electronic device including at least one of a 'key value generated based on the address where the electronic device is installed', shared SSID information, and shared password information.

11. In a method for controlling an electronic device, A step of storing key information within the electronic device; Steps to obtain onboarding information; A step of performing a registration procedure for the electronic device using the acquired onboarding information; A step of checking other electronic devices to determine at least one electronic device among the other electronic devices having the key information; A control method comprising the step of transmitting the acquired onboarding information to another electronic device that has not been onboarded with the key information among the other electronic devices identified above.

12. In paragraph 11, The above key information contains a random value, The above control method is, The step of the electronic device generating at least one of an SSID and a password based on the random value; and A control method further comprising the step of establishing a connection with the other electronic device using at least one of the generated SSID and password.

13. In paragraph 11, The steps for obtaining the above onboarding information are: When the communication device of the above electronic device is operating in AP mode, onboarding information is obtained from another electronic device or user terminal having a communication device operating in station mode, The step of transmitting the above acquired onboarding information is: A control method for transmitting the acquired onboarding information to at least one electronic device that has been determined not to have acquired onboarding information yet, when the communication device of the electronic device is in station mode and the communication device of at least one electronic device that has been determined not to have acquired onboarding information yet, has key information, when the communication device of the electronic device is in AP mode.

14. In paragraph 11, The above onboarding information is: Contains AP connection information including SSID (ServiceSetIdentifier) ​​of the access point, security setting information of the access point, and password information corresponding to the security setting information, The steps to proceed with the above onboarding procedure are: A control method for establishing a connection with an access point based on the above AP connection information.

15. In a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a method of controlling an electronic device, The above control method is, A step of storing key information within the electronic device; Steps to obtain onboarding information; A step of performing a registration procedure for the electronic device using the acquired onboarding information; A step of checking other electronic devices to determine at least one electronic device among the other electronic devices having the key information; A computer-readable recording medium comprising: a step of transmitting the acquired onboarding information to another electronic device that has not been onboarded with the key information among the other electronic devices identified above;

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