Method for controlling wireless network devices and control device with wireless network function

• US 9,445,440 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chicony Electronics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Chicony Electronics Company Limited
• Inventors: Yuan, Shang-Yuan, Huang, Wei-Cheng, Tsai, Mei-Yi
• Primary Examiner(s): HSU, ALPUS
• Application Number:
  US14/062,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20140192792A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for controlling wireless network devices, which includes the following steps: a control device with a wireless network function is utilized to scan several access-point (AP) mode wireless network devices. One of the AP mode wireless network devices is selected as a master AP according to the scanning result. The at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one is set to a client mode. The at least one wireless network device set to the client mode builds a connection to the control device with a wireless network function through the master AP. The present invention also discloses a control device with a wireless network function.

Claims

1. A method for controlling wireless network devices comprising:

(a) scanning a plurality of access-point mode (AP mode) wireless network devices by utilizing a control device with a wireless network function to obtain a detected-device number of each AP mode wireless network device, wherein the detected-device number represents the number of AP mode wireless network devices detected by each AP mode wireless network device;

(b) selecting one of the AP mode wireless network devices as a master AP, wherein the AP mode wireless network device with a maximal detected-device number is selected as the master AP;

(c) setting at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected to a client mode; and

(d) driving the at least one AP mode wireless network device that is set to the client mode to build a connection to the control device with the wireless network function through the master AP,

wherein the control device obtains a connection setting profile for connecting to the master AP, and

wherein when a new AP mode wireless network device is detected by the control device, the control device transmits the connection setting profile to the new AP mode wireless network device, and the control device sets the new AP mode wireless network device to the client mode.

2. The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting the connection setting profile to the at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected; and

driving the at least one AP mode wireless network device that is set to the client mode to build a connection to the master AP according to the connection setting profile.

3. The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 2 further comprising:

when the master AP is capable of operating in the client mode and an AP mode simultaneously, driving the master AP to build a connection with the at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected for transmitting the connection setting profile.

4. The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1, wherein operation (a) further comprises:

obtaining connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device.

5. The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 4, wherein the connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device comprises a signal strength, a communication-channel information or an Internet connection information.

6. The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1 further comprising:

when the at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected is capable of operating in the client mode and an AP mode simultaneously, driving the at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected to set to the client mode with the AP mode enabled.

7. The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1 further comprising:

according to a first selection signal through an input unit of the control device with the wireless network function for performing the selection at operation (b); and

according to a second selection signal through the input unit of the control device with the wireless network function for selecting one of the AP mode wireless network devices to set to the client mode and to connect to the master AP.

8. A control device with a wireless network function comprising:

a wireless network module; and

a processing unit electrically connected with the wireless network module, wherein the processing unit comprises;

a scanning module configured to drive the wireless network module to scan a plurality of access-point mode (AP mode) wireless network devices through a wireless network to generate a scanning result, wherein the scanning module comprises;

an obtainer configured to obtain a detected-device number of each AP mode wireless network device, wherein the detected-device number represents the number of AP mode wireless network devices that is detected by each AP mode wireless network device;

a selecting module configured to select one of the AP mode wireless network devices as a master AP according to the scanning result, wherein the selecting module selects the AP mode wireless network device with a maximal detected-device number as the master AP;

an obtaining module configured to drive the wireless network module to obtain a connection setting profile for connecting to the master AP through the wireless network; and

a connection-building module configured to set the at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected to a client mode and to drive the at least one AP mode wireless network device that is set to the client mode to build a connection to the control device with the wireless network function through the master AP according to the connection setting profile,

wherein when a new AP mode wireless network device is detected by the processing unit, the processing unit transmits the connection setting profile to the new AP mode wireless network device, and the processing unit sets the new AP mode wireless network device to the client mode.

9. The control device with a wireless network function of claim 8, wherein the processing unit further comprises:

a transmitting module configured to transmit the connection setting profile to the at least one of the AP mode wireless network devices that are non-selected,

wherein the at least one AP mode wireless network device that is set to the client mode builds a connection to the master AP according to the connection setting profile.

10. The control device with a wireless network function of claim 8, wherein the obtainer is configured to obtain connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device, wherein the selecting module performs selection according to the connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device.

11. The control device with a wireless network function of claim 10, wherein the connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device comprises a signal strength, a communication-channel information or an Internet connection information.

12. The control device with a wireless network function of claim 8 further comprising an input unit electrically connected with the processing unit,

wherein a first selection signal is received through the input unit for the selecting module to perform the selection,

wherein a second selection signal is received through the input unit for the processing unit to select one of the AP mode wireless network devices to set to the client mode and to connect to the master AP.