Patent Publication Number: US-2020280488-A1

Title: Configuring wireless devices for a wireless infrastructure network

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation application to presently co-pending U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 16/528,173, filed Jul. 31, 2019, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 16/375,428, filed Apr. 4, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,601,652, issued Mar. 24, 2020, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 15/927,262, filed Mar. 21, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,079,717, issued Sep. 18, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 15/463,559, filed Mar. 20, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,992,061, issued Jun. 5, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 15/080,940, filed Mar. 25, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,629,190, issued Apr. 18, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/850,508, filed Sep. 10, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,326,304, issued Apr. 26, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/702,316, filed May 1, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,185,168, issued Nov. 10, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 13/832,719, filed Mar. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,288, issued Jun. 16, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS AND APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is also related to (1) U.S. application Ser. No. 16/528,186, filed Jul. 31, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,560,323 and (2) U.S. application Ser. No. 16/057,360, filed Aug. 7, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,298,451. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Wireless earphones that stream digital-audio content from sources are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,190,203, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a wireless earphone pair where each earphone is capable of receiving and playing digital-audio streamed over ad-hoc or infrastructure Wi-Fi networks. This patent also describes that the source of the digital-audio content could be a wireless network adapter that plugs into an audio player (such as a personal digital audio player (DAP)) and transmits the audio from the audio player to the earphones via a Wi-Fi ad hoc network. Also, the earphones may connect to, and stream digital-audio content from, a remote server through the Internet via an infrastructure Wi-Fi network. 
     SUMMARY 
     In various embodiments, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for configuring a wireless device to receive data wirelessly via an infrastructure wireless network, without physically connecting the wireless device to a computer in order to configure it, and without having a have an existing infrastructure wireless network for the wireless device to connect to. The wireless device could be for example a wireless media player (such as an audio player or a video player), a wireless controller for electronic equipment, or any device that receives wireless data. 
     According to various embodiments, a system according to the present invention comprises: the wireless device configured to receive data wirelessly; a content access point that communicates with the wireless device via an ad hoc wireless network; a computer that is connectable to the content access point; and a remote server in communication with the computer via a communications network (e.g., the Internet). The remote server hosts a website, accessible by the computer, through which a user of the wireless device inputs, via the computer, credential data for at least one infrastructure wireless network, and the remote server stores the credential data. Also, the content access point transmits the credential data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network to the wireless device via the ad hoc wireless network, such that, upon receipt of the credential data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network, the wireless device is configured to connect to the at least one infrastructure wireless network. That way, the wireless device can connect to the infrastructure wireless network without having to have been plugged into the computer, and without having to have been connected to another, different infrastructure wireless network. 
     In another general aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of configuring a wireless media player to communicate via an infrastructure wireless network. In various implementations, the method comprises, prior to connecting the wireless media player to the infrastructure wireless network, the steps of: storing an IP address for the wireless media player in a non-volatile memory of a separate content access point device; connecting the content access point device to a computer that is configured to communicate with a remote server via the Internet; uploading the IP address for the wireless media player stored in the non-volatile memory of the content access point device to the remote server from the computer and the Internet; receiving by the remote server credential data for the infrastructure wireless network from a user; and transmitting, by the content access point, the credential data for the infrastructure wireless network to the wireless media player via an ad hoc wireless network between the content access point device and the wireless media player. The inventive method further comprises, after the wireless media player receives the credential data for the infrastructure wireless network from the content access point device via the ad hoc wireless network, the step of the wireless media player connecting to the infrastructure wireless network using the received credential data for the infrastructure wireless network. 
     These and other benefits and aspects of the present invention are described below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Various embodiments of the present invention are described herein by way of example in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
         FIGS. 1, 4 and 5  are diagrams of systems according to various embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is simplified block diagram of the content access point according to various embodiments of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart depicting a process of a system according to various embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for configuring a wireless device to communicate via an infrastructure wireless network, such as an infrastructure Wi-Fi network, without having to physically plug the wireless device into a computer to configure it, and without having to have an existing infrastructure wireless connection for the wireless device. In the description to follow, the wireless device is usually described as a wireless audio player, e.g., a set of earphones, although it should be recognized that the present invention is not so limited. The wireless device could be another type of media player, such as a wireless video player, or another type of device that receives data wirelessly. For example, the wireless device could be a controller for electronic equipment, such as a controller for lighting systems, cameras, machinery, gaming equipment, etc., that receives control data via a wireless communication link. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of a system  10  according to various embodiments of the present invention. The system  10  comprises an earphone set  12  comprising a pair of earphones  14 , one for each ear of a user. One or both of the earphones  14  may communicate wirelessly with a content access point (CAP)  16  via an ad hoc communication link  18 , which is preferably an ad hoc Wi-Fi link (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n), although in other embodiments different wireless communication protocols may be used, such as WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Bluetooth, Zigbee, UWB, etc. The ad hoc communication link  18  is an ad hoc wireless network because it is a point-to-point network (in this case, the CAP  16  to the wireless device  14 ) that does not utilize preexisting infrastructure, such as wireless access points. In such an ad hoc network, the devices (e.g., the CAP  16  and the wireless device  14 ) may have equal status on the network. 
     The CAP  16  is connectable, through, for example, a wired connection, to a source of digital audio that stores and plays digital audio files, such as MP3, FLAC, etc. files. The source may be, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a personal DAP  20  or a computer  22 , for example, although in other embodiments other media source devices may be used. The personal DAP  20  may be a personal MP3 player, iPod, iPhone, etc., or any other personal electronic device capable of storing and playing digital audio files. The computer  22  may be any suitable computer device, such as a personal computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smart phone, etc., and preferably has a browser to facilitate initializing the CAP  16  and earphones  14 , as described further below. The CAP  16  may connect to the DAP  20  via a USB connector (not shown) that connects to a USB port (e.g., conventional, mini, and micro) of the CAP  16  and to an audio jack on the DAP  20 , such as a 3.5 mm TRS or TRRS audio jack. The CAP  16  may connect to the computer  22  via a USB connection (not shown). Also, the CAP  16  may be an integral part of the DAP  20  or the computer  22 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the earphones  14  may also connect to a wireless access point  24  via a wireless infrastructure communication link  26 , that is again preferably a Wi-Fi link, although other wireless protocols could be used. The wireless infrastructure communication link  26  may be part of an infrastructure wireless network because it utilizes a wireless access point  24  and connects to an Internet service provider (e.g., a Wi-Fi hotspot). 
     Both the computer  22  and the wireless access point  24  may be connected to a communications network  28 , which is preferably an electronic, packet-switched, data communications network, such as a TCP/IP network, such as the Internet. Numerous servers are connected to the Internet; one remote server system  30  is shown in  FIG. 1 . As described further below, a user may connect to the remote server system  30  to provision or initialize the user&#39;s CAP  16  and earphones  14  for initial use, and to otherwise manage the CAP  16  and earphones  14 . The remote server system  30  may also stream digital audio content to the earphones  14  via the infrastructure wireless network  26 , although the earphones  14  may also stream digital content from other servers connected to the communications network  28  once configured to communicate via the infrastructure wireless network  26 , as described below. 
     In  FIG. 1 , the earphone set  12  includes a headband  32  connecting the earphones  14 . In such an embodiment, one earphone  14  may receive the wireless digital content and transmit it to the other earphone  14  for synchronized playing via a wire that runs through the head band to connect the earphones  14 . In other embodiments, both earphones  14  may receive wirelessly and play synchronously the streaming digital content. In such an embodiment, a headband between the earphones is not necessary. More details regarding such wireless earphone pairs are described in the following patents and patent applications, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: U.S. Pat. No. 8,190,203; U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0230510 A1; and U.S. nonprovisional application Ser. No. 13/441,476, filed Apr. 6, 2012, now Pub. No. 2013/0266152. These patents and patent applications also include simplified block diagrams of the earphones  14  according to various embodiments. As disclosed in these patents and patent applications, the earphones  14  have one or more acoustic transducers for producing sound. 
       FIG. 2  is simplified block diagram of the CAP  16  according to various embodiments of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the CAP  16  may comprise a processor  40 , a volatile memory  42 , a nonvolatile memory  44 , a RF (or radio or Wi-Fi) module  46  and a USB port  48  or other suitable external interface that allows the CAP  16  to connect to an external device, such as the DAP  20  or the computer  22 . The CAP  16  may also include a chargeable power source (not shown) for powering the components of the CAP  16 . The RF module  46  may handle radio/wireless communications by the CAP  16 . For example, the RF module  46  may allow the CAP to communicate via a wireless communication protocol, preferably Wi-Fi, with the earphones  14  or the wireless access point  24 . The memory units  42 ,  44  may store software instructions for execution by the processor  40  that control the function and operation of the CAP  16 . In addition, in various embodiments, the earphones  14  and CAP  16  are part of a conjoined assembly, such that the CAP  16  is configured at manufacture to know the identifiers for the earphones  14 . That is, the non-volatile memory  44  may store addresses (e.g., IP addresses) for the earphones  14 . 
     In various embodiments, in order to initially operate the earphones  14  (e.g., “out of the box”), the CAP  16  may be plugged into the desired media device (e.g., the DAP  20  or the computer  22 ) as described above, which may power the CAP  16  and cause the CAP  16  to transmit (or stream) wirelessly the content output by the media device, which can be received (via the ad hoc wireless communication link  18 ) and played by the earphones  14  (assuming the earphones  14  are turned on), since the CAP  16  is initially configured to store the addresses for the earphones  14 , as described above. 
     As described above, the earphones  14  can, when properly configured, also receive wireless content via infrastructure networks.  FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a process for setting up and customizing the channels and streams for the earphones  14 , including adding and managing wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi hotspots) according to various embodiments. At step  60 , the user (e.g., a user of the earphones  14 ), using the Internet-enabled computer  22  with a browser, logs into a website associated with the earphones  14 , hosted by the remote server(s)  30 , and sets up an account (if the user does not already have one). At the website the user can, for example, add Wi-Fi hotspots and specify content channels (e.g., Internet radio stations or other servers connected to the Internet that serve content). To add a Wi-Fi hotspot at step  62 , the user may click (or otherwise activate) a link on the website that indicates a desire to add a Wi-Fi hotspot. In various embodiments, a JAVA applet from the website may be used by the computer  22  to search for nearby Wi-Fi hotspots, which, upon detection, may be displayed for the user on the website. The user may then click on (or otherwise select) the desired Wi-Fi hotspot to add. If applicable, the website may then prompt the user to enter a password and/or encryption type (e.g., WPA or WPA2) for the selected Wi-Fi hotspot. The SSID, password, and encryption type for the Wi-Fi hotspot is stored for the user&#39;s account by the remote server(s)  30 . This process could be repeated as necessary to add as many Wi-Fi hotspots as desired by the user. 
     Next, at step  64 , a user device, e.g., the earphone set  12 , may be added to the user&#39;s account. The user may do this, according to various embodiments, by plugging the CAP  16  into the computer  22 . Using a JAVA applet, for example, the IDs for the CAP  16 , as well as the IDs for the earphones  14 , stored in the non-volatile memory  44  of the CAP  16 , are uploaded to the remote server(s)  30  and stored at the remote server(s)  30  as part of the user&#39;s account information. Next, at step  66 , the user may update the earphones  14  with the Wi-Fi hotspot credentials (e.g., SSID, password if one is used for the hotspot, and/or encryption type). The user may do this by clicking on or otherwise selecting a link on the website to update the earphones  14 . Upon clicking the link, the CAP  16  transmits the credentials (e.g., SSID, password, encryption type) for each of the added Wi-Fi hotspots to the earphones  14 , via the ad hoc wireless communication link  18 . This process allows the earphones  14  to be configured for infrastructure network (and Internet) access without having to physically connect the earphones  14  to the computer  22  to configure them and without having an existing, different infrastructure network that the earphones  14  need to connect to. 
     The user may also set up channels for the earphones  14  at step  68  through the website. The user may do this by clicking on or otherwise selecting a link or option provided by the website to add channels. The channels may be digital content streams, such as digital audio. The remote server(s)  30  may host a number of such content streams that the user could select via the website. These selections may be stored by the remote server(s)  30  as part of the user&#39;s account information. Also, the user could enter an address for a channel(s), associated with another server(s) connected to the network  28 , such as the URL for channel&#39;s server. These addresses may also be stored by the remote server(s)  30  as part of the user&#39;s account information. 
     The earphones  14  may have one or more multi-function user controls (e.g., buttons, touch interfaces, etc.) and indicators (e.g., LEDs) that allow the user to select and transition through various modes of operation. For example, using the user control(s) of the earphones  14 , the user could select an ad hoc mode, whereby the earphones stream and play content from the CAP  16  (and hence the device to which the CAP  16  is connected, such as the DAP  20  or the computer  22 ). Also, the user could select the infrastructure (e.g., Wi-Fi) mode using the user control(s) in order to stream content via Wi-Fi hotspot. The user may also cycle through or otherwise select the desired channel (stored in step  68 ) using the user-control. 
     It should be noted that the some steps of  FIG. 3  could be performed in different orders than as shown in  FIG. 3 . For example, the user&#39;s channels could be set up before the Wi-Fi hotspots are added or before the user&#39;s earphones  14  are added. However, the earphones  14  could not be updated with the Wi-Fi hotspot credentials (step  66 ) until the Wi-Fi hotspot(s) and earphones are added (steps  62  and  64 ). 
     Although the above embodiments were described in the context of wireless earphones for receiving and playing digital audio content, in other embodiments different types of the digital content could be streamed to the wireless device in a similar manner. For example, instead of earphones, a video player  80 , as shown in  FIG. 4  could be used instead. The video player  80  may be any video player capable of receiving and playing received digital video content, such as MPEG video, for example. The video player  80  may stream the video content from the CAP  16  (and hence the media source connected to the CAP  16 ) via the ad hoc wireless communication link  18  or via the infrastructure wireless communication link  26 , as described above. Also, the video player  80  could be configured with the Wi-Fi hotspot credentials as described above in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
     Similarly, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the wireless device could be a controller  82  that controls the operation and/or function of electronic equipment  84 , such as lighting system(s), camera(s), manufacturing equipment, medical device(s), gaming systems, or any other suitable controllable electronic equipment. The controller  82  may receive control data via either the ad hoc or infrastructure wireless networks, depending on which mode the controller  82  is in. As described above, the controller  82  may be configured to connect to the infrastructure wireless network  26  by receiving the credential data for the infrastructure wireless network  26  via the ad hoc wireless network  18 . 
     In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to a system that comprises: the wireless device configured to receive data wirelessly; a content access point that communicates with the wireless device via an ad hoc wireless network; a computer that is connectable to the content access point; and a remote server in communication with the computer via a communications network. The remote server hosts a web site accessible by the computer. The website permits a user of the wireless device to input via the computer credential data for at least one infrastructure wireless network, and the remote server stores the credential data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network. Also, the content access point transmits the credential data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network to the wireless device via the ad hoc wireless network, such that, upon receipt of the credential data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network, the wireless device is configured to connect to the at least one infrastructure wireless network. 
     In various implementations, the wireless device comprises a wireless media player, such as an audio player or a video player. The wireless media player may be configured to receive and play digital media data received via the ad hoc wireless network when in a first mode (an ad hoc mode), and is configured to receive and play digital media data received via the infrastructure wireless network when in a second mode (an infrastructure mode). In other embodiments, the wireless device may comprise a wireless controller that controls electronic equipment. The wireless controller may be configured to receive digital control data received via the ad hoc wireless network when in a first mode (an ad hoc mode), and is configured to receive digital control data received via the infrastructure wireless network when in a second mode (an infrastructure mode). In various embodiments, the ad hoc wireless network comprises an ad hoc Wi-Fi network, and the infrastructure wireless network comprises an infrastructure Wi-Fi network. The credential data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network may comprise: an identifier for the at least one infrastructure wireless network; a password for the at least one infrastructure wireless network; and/or encryption type data for the at least one infrastructure wireless network. 
     It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that at least some of the embodiments described herein may be implemented in many different embodiments of software, firmware, and/or hardware. The software and firmware code may be executed by a processor circuit or any other similar computing device. The software code or specialized control hardware that may be used to implement embodiments is not limiting. For example, embodiments described herein may be implemented in computer software using any suitable computer software language type, using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. Such software may be stored on any type of suitable computer-readable medium or media, such as, for example, a magnetic or optical storage medium. The operation and behavior of the embodiments may be described without specific reference to specific software code or specialized hardware components. The absence of such specific references is feasible, because it is clearly understood that artisans of ordinary skill would be able to design software and control hardware to implement the embodiments based on the present description with no more than reasonable effort and without undue experimentation. 
     Moreover, the processes associated with the present embodiments may be executed by programmable equipment, such as computers or computer systems and/or processors. Software that may cause programmable equipment to execute processes may be stored in any storage device, such as, for example, a computer system (nonvolatile) memory, an optical disk, magnetic tape, or magnetic disk. Furthermore, at least some of the processes may be programmed when the computer system is manufactured or stored on various types of computer-readable media. 
     It can also be appreciated that certain process aspects described herein may be performed using instructions stored on a computer-readable medium or media that direct a computer system to perform the process steps. A computer-readable medium may include, for example, memory devices such as diskettes, compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), optical disk drives, or hard disk drives. A computer-readable medium may also include memory storage that is physical, virtual, permanent, temporary, semipermanent, and/or semitemporary. 
     A “computer,” “computer system,” “host,” “server,” or “processor” may be, for example and without limitation, a processor, microcomputer, minicomputer, server, mainframe, laptop, personal data assistant (PDA), wireless e-mail device, cellular phone, pager, processor, fax machine, scanner, or any other programmable device configured to transmit and/or receive data over a network. Computer systems and computer-based devices disclosed herein may include memory for storing certain software modules or engines used in obtaining, processing, and communicating information. It can be appreciated that such memory may be internal or external with respect to operation of the disclosed embodiments. The memory may also include any means for storing software, including a hard disk, an optical disk, floppy disk, ROM (read only memory), RAM (random access memory), PROM (programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM) and/or other computer-readable media. The software modules and engines described herein can be executed by the processor (or processors as the case may be) of the computer devices that access the memory storing the modules. 
     In various embodiments disclosed herein, a single component may be replaced by multiple components and multiple components may be replaced by a single component to perform a given function or functions. Except where such substitution would not be operative, such substitution is within the intended scope of the embodiments. Any servers described herein, for example, may be replaced by a “server farm” or other grouping of networked servers (such as server blades) that are located and configured for cooperative functions. It can be appreciated that a server farm may serve to distribute workload between/among individual components of the farm and may expedite computing processes by harnessing the collective and cooperative power of multiple servers. Such server farms may employ load-balancing software that accomplishes tasks such as, for example, tracking demand for processing power from different machines, prioritizing and scheduling tasks based on network demand and/or providing backup contingency in the event of component failure or reduction in operability. 
     The computer systems may comprise one or more processors in communication with memory (e.g., RAM or ROM) via one or more data buses. The data buses may carry electrical signals between the processor(s) and the memory. The processor and the memory may comprise electrical circuits that conduct electrical current. Charge states of various components of the circuits, such as solid state transistors of the processor(s) and/or memory circuit(s), may change during operation of the circuits. 
     While various embodiments have been described herein, it should be apparent that various modifications, alterations, and adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the art with attainment of at least some of the advantages. The disclosed embodiments are therefore intended to include all such modifications, alterations, and adaptations without departing from the scope of the embodiments as set forth herein.