Patent Description:
With development of network technology, information exchanges are performed more and more frequently among terminals, and data volume involved in information exchanges increases gradually. Therefore, data transmission is usually slow when transmitting data with large volume, which affects the efficiency of information exchange.

For existing terminals, data transmission rate may be increased by setting up and using multiple network modules in a terminal for data transmission. However, the multiple network modules need to be manually connected to a network one by one before data transmission, resulting in cumbersome operations of network connections for a terminal with multiple network modules.

<CIT> discusses a portable computing device (<NUM>) that can enable an accessory (<NUM>) to access a wireless network, wherein the portable computing device (<NUM>) can provide a wireless network access credential to the accessory (<NUM>), and the accessory (<NUM>) can thereafter use the wireless network access credential to access a wireless network. <CIT> discusses a multi-split air conditioner that comprises at least one outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units, wherein a WIFI module is arranged in at least one indoor unit.

It is therefore one main object of the present disclosure to provide a method for network sharing on a terminal, apparatus, air conditioner and storage medium, aiming to deal with a technical problem of cumbersome operations of network connections for a terminal with multiple wifi modules. Aspects of the present invention are set out in the accompanying claims.

To achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides a method for network sharing on a terminal, including following steps:.

Optionally, after the step of sending the network connection information to the to-connect wifi module of the terminal, the method further includes:.

Optionally, the step of obtaining data information corresponding to the data to be transmitted and determining a wifi module to perform data transmission according to the data information further includes:
obtaining, when detecting data to be transmitted, data size corresponding to the data to be transmitted, and determining the wifi module to perform data transmission according to the data size.

Optionally, the step of obtaining data information corresponding to the data to be transmitted and determining a wifi module to perform data transmission according to the data information further includes:
obtaining, when detecting data to be transmitted, a receiving terminal corresponding to the data to be transmitted, and determining the wifi module to perform data transmission according to the receiving terminal.

Optionally, before the step of obtaining network connection information of the wifi module connected to the network, the method further includes:.

Optionally, the method for network sharing on a terminal further includes:.

Optionally, before obtaining a system file corresponding to the wifi module, the method further includes:.

Furthermore, to achieve the above object, the present disclosure also provides an apparatus for network sharing on a terminal, which includes: a memory, a processor, and a program for network sharing stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program for network sharing, when executed by the processor, implements steps of the method for network sharing on a terminal as described above.

Furthermore, to achieve the above object, the present disclosure also provides an air conditioner, which includes: a memory, a processor, and a program for network sharing stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program for network sharing, when executed by the processor, implements steps of the method for network sharing on a terminal as described above.

Furthermore, to achieve the above object, the present disclosure also provides a computer readable storage medium having a program for network sharing stored thereon, wherein the program for network sharing, when executed by a processor, implements steps of the method for network sharing on a terminal as described above.

According to the method for network sharing on a terminal, apparatus, air conditioner and storage medium presented by several embodiments of the present disclosure, for a terminal having a plurality of wifi modules, after a wifi module connects to a network, network connection information of the wifi module connected to the network can be obtained; and the network connection information can be sent to a to-connect wifi module in the terminal, to enable the to-connect wifi module to connect to the network according to the received network connection information. Therefore, network connection can be shared among wifi modules, network connection operations can be simplified and data transmission rate can be improved.

The implementation, functional characteristics and advantages of the present disclosure will be further described with reference to the attached drawings in combination with embodiments.

It will be appreciated that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

A main solution provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure:.

With conventional technologies, operations of network connections for a terminal with multiple wifi modules are rather cumbersome.

According to the present disclosure, a solution is provided, for a terminal having a plurality of wifi modules, after a wifi module connects to a network, network connection information of the wifi module connected to the network can be obtained; and the network connection information can be sent to a to-connect wifi module in the terminal, to enable the to-connect wifi module to connect to the network according to the received network connection information. Therefore, network connection can be shared among wifi modules, network connection operations can be simplified and data transmission rate can be improved.

As shown in <FIG>, a structural schematic diagram of a terminal is presented in a hardware operating environment in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

The terminal in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be an air conditioner, a smart household electrical appliance such as a TV set, a laundry machine, a refrigerator, or a terminal equipment having a plurality of wifi modules such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, PC, a portable computer.

As shown in <FIG>, the terminal may include: a processor <NUM>, such as CPU, a network interface <NUM>, a user interface <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, and a communication bus <NUM>. The communication bus <NUM> is configured to facilitate connection and communication between these components. The user interface <NUM> may include a display, an input unit such as a keyboard, and an optional user interface <NUM> may also include a standard wired interface and wireless interface. The network interface <NUM> may optionally include a standard wired interface, and a wireless interface (such as a WI-FI interface). The memory <NUM> may be a high-speed RAM memory, or a non-volatile memory such as a disk memory. The memory <NUM> optionally may also be a storage device that is separate from the processor <NUM> described above.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the structure of the terminal illustrated in <FIG> does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. Thus, the terminal may include more or less components than those illustrated, or some components to be combined, or different arrangements of components.

As shown in <FIG>, the memory <NUM> as a computer storage medium may include an operation system, a network communication module, a user interface module and a program for network sharing.

In the terminal shown in <FIG>, the network interface <NUM> is mainly configured to connect a background server and communicate data with the background server; the user interface <NUM> is mainly configured to connect the client (user side) and communicate data with the client; and the processor <NUM> may be configured to execute the program for network sharing stored in the memory <NUM>, with following operations:.

Further, the processor <NUM> may be configured to execute the program for network sharing stored in the memory <NUM>, with following operations:.

Further, the processor <NUM> may be configured to execute the program for network sharing stored in the memory <NUM>, with following operations:
obtaining, when detecting data to be transmitted, data size corresponding to the data to be transmitted, and determining a wifi module to perform data transmission according to the data size.

Further, the processor <NUM> may be configured to execute the program for network sharing stored in the memory <NUM>, with following operations:
obtaining, when detecting data to be transmitted, a receiving terminal corresponding to the data to be transmitted, and determining a wifi module to perform data transmission according to the receiving terminal.

With reference to <FIG>, a first embodiment of a method for network sharing according to the present disclosure is presented, which includes:.

Step S10, obtaining, after a wifi module connects to a network, network connection information of the wifi module connected to the network.

For a terminal such as an air conditioner having a plurality of wifi modules, after one or more wifi modules are detected to be connected to a network, network connection information of the wifi module for the network connected to, may be obtained. The network connection information mainly includes network name, network address, and network password.

The wifi modules in the air conditioner may connect to the network by ways of, for example, a terminal associated with a wifi module sending network connection information, to enable the wifi module to obtain the network connection information and connect to the network; or a user inputting network connection information in a user interface of the air conditioner, to enable a wifi module to obtain the network connection information and connect to the network, and so on.

Step S20, sending the network connection information to a to-connect wifi module of the terminal, to enable the to-connect wifi module to connect to the network according to the network connection information.

The network connection information is send to a to-connect wifi module (a wifi module to connect to the network), then the to-connect wifi module may connect to the network according to the network connection information, without a need of network connection operation by a user on each wifi module waiting for network connection, which reduces time consumed on network connection, and improves efficiency of network connection. With more wifi modules in the terminal connected to the network, information exchange can be executed faster, and thus efficiency of data transmission can be improved, upon receiving information exchange instructions such as data transmission instruction or data acquisition instruction.

According to the present disclosure, for a terminal having a plurality of wifi modules, after a wifi module is detected to be connected to a network, network connection information of the wifi module connected to the network can be obtained; and the network connection information can be sent to a to-connect wifi module in the terminal, to enable the to-connect wifi module to connect to the network according to the received network connection information. Therefore, network connection can be shared among wifi modules, network connection operations can be simplified and data transmission rate can be improved.

With reference to <FIG>, a second embodiment of a method for network sharing on a terminal is provided, on the basis of the first embodiment, after step S20, the method further includes:.

Upon receiving a data transmission signal, the terminal obtains data information of the data to be transmitted. According to the data information of the data to be transmitted, a wifi module selected for data transmission can be determined. A processor of the terminal or a server to which the terminal associates will control the wifi module to perform data transmission, providing a prompt and efficient data transmission process.

Usually, a wifi module may be determined according to data size of the data to be transmitted. For example, multiple wifi modules with higher performance and higher transmission speed may be selected when data size is large, to improve transmission efficiency. When data size is relatively small, a single wifi module or wifi modules with relatively lower performance may be selected, in order to reduce memory usage of the terminal, and relieve slowdowns in performance due to data transmission.

Further, a receiving terminal corresponding to the data to be transmitted, may be obtained, then a wifi module to perform data transmission may be selected according to the receiving terminal, such that the wifi module to perform data transmission can match with the data receiving terminal, to avoid data transmission failure and improve data transmission rate.

In this embodiment, when a data transmission instruction is received, steps of detecting data to be transmitted, obtaining data information of the data to be transmitted, selecting a wifi module to perform data transmission according to the data information, and controlling the wifi module to perform data transmission to transmit data to be transmitted, can facilitate effective transmission of data, and improve data transmission rate.

With reference to <FIG>, a third embodiment of a method for network sharing on a terminal is provided, on the basis of the first or second embodiment, before step S10, the method further includes:.

When receiving a request of network connection, as the terminal may has a plurality of wifi modules, there's a need to obtain network connection information of the request of network connection and terminal information of a terminal who sends the request of network connection. A wifi module matching with the terminal can be searched with the terminal information, i.e., a wifi module corresponding to the request of network connection.

Step S70, sending the network connection information to a wifi module corresponding to the request of network connection.

After determining a wifi module corresponding to the request of network connection, sending the network connection information to the wifi module, to enable the wifi module to connect to the network according to the network connection information.

For example, a first wifi module in an air conditioner having two wifi modules, is associated with a mobile phone terminal. When the mobile phone terminal sends network connection information to the air conditioner, the network connection information is then sent to the first wifi module. The first wifi module connects to the network according to the network connection information. A user may input network connection information to a user interface of the air conditioner, then the air conditioner sends the received network connection information to a second wifi module, the second wifi module connects to the network according to the network connection information.

In this embodiment, when receiving a request of network connection, as the terminal has a plurality of wifi modules, network connection information of the request of network connection and terminal information of a terminal who sends the request of network connection are obtained. A wifi module matching with the terminal can be searched with the terminal information, i.e., a wifi module corresponding to the request of network connection. The network connection information is then sent to the wifi module, then the wifi module may connect to the network according to the received network connection information, to establish an effective connection between the wifi module of a terminal and the network, providing a network base for network sharing on a terminal having multiple wifi modules.

With reference to <FIG>, a fourth embodiment of a method for network sharing on a terminal is provided, on the basis of any from the first to third embodiment, the method further includes:.

In a terminal having a plurality of wifi modules, a system file of the wifi module may be stored in a system chip, to reduce memory capacity of a wifi module, therefore, the above-mentioned wifi module may be a wifi module with small memory capacity. When a wifi module is detected to be powered-on, that means the wifi module will be used, module information of the powered-on wifi module may be obtained, a system file corresponding to the powered-on wifi module can be determined according to the module information of the powered-on wifi module, then the system file may be sent to the powered-on wifi module, to enable normal operation of the powered-on wifi module.

In this embodiment, when a wifi module is detected to be powered-on, that means the wifi module will be used, module information of the powered-on wifi module may be obtained, a system file corresponding to the powered-on wifi module can be determined according to the module information of the powered-on wifi module, then the system file may be sent to the powered-on wifi module, to enable normal operation of the powered-on wifi module. By reducing memory usage of a wifi module, performance requirement to a wifi module can be lower, and production cost of a terminal having multiple wifi modules can be reduced.

With reference to <FIG>, a fifth embodiment of a method for network sharing on a terminal is provided, on the basis of any from the first to fourth embodiment, the method further includes:
Step S100, determining, when detecting a wifi module powered-on, whether the wifi module is a preset wifi module.

Executing, if the wifi module is a preset wifi module, returning to step S80, i.e., the step of obtaining a system file corresponding to the wifi module.

In a terminal having a plurality of wifi modules, in order to satisfy a requirement of data transmission with large volume of data, and requirement of other high performance required tasks, usually the wifi modules are arranged in a system chip. In order to guarantee a high operational performance of such wifi modules, a system file required to operate such wifi modules may be stored locally in the chip, without a need of accessing from somewhere else. Therefore, the wifi module with small memory capacity as described in the previous embodiment may be arranged as a preset wifi module. When a wifi module is detected to be powered-on, it may judge whether the powered-on wifi module is the preset wifi module. When the powered-on wifi module is a preset wifi module, step S80 may be executed to enable normal operation of the powered-on wifi module.

In this embodiment, when a wifi module is detected to be powered-on, firstly judging whether the powered-on wifi module is a preset wifi module which is accessing a system file, and when the powered-on wifi module is the preset wifi module, determining and sending a system file corresponding to the powered-on wifi module, to the powered-on wifi module. If the powered-on wifi module is not requiring a system file, it may be because that the system file is not able to obtain or not able to send, which may lead to system disorders and affect normal operation of a terminal. The above-mentioned problem can be effectively avoided by determining an identity of the powered-on wifi module.

Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides an apparatus for network sharing on a terminal, which includes: a memory, a processor, and a program for network sharing stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program for network sharing, when executed by the processor, implements steps of the method for network sharing on a terminal as described in the above embodiments.

Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides an air conditioner, which includes: a memory, a processor, and a program for network sharing stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program for network sharing, when executed by the processor, implements steps of the method for network sharing on a terminal as described in the above embodiments.

Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides a computer readable storage medium having a program for network sharing stored thereon, wherein the program for network sharing, when executed by a processor, implements steps of the method for network sharing on a terminal as described in the above embodiments.

It's to be clarified that the term "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof is intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, device, or system including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements that are not explicitly listed, or elements that are inherent to such a process, method, device, or system. In the absence of more restrictions, an element defined by the phrase "including one. " does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, device, or system that includes the element.

The numbers of the embodiments according to the present disclosure are merely for description, and do not represent for the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments.

Claim 1:
A method for network sharing on a terminal, wherein, the terminal comprises a plurality of wifi modules, the method for network sharing on a terminal comprises following steps:
obtaining (S10), after a wifi module connects to a network, network connection information of the wifi module connected to the network;
sending (S20) the network connection information to a to-connect wifi module of the terminal, to enable the to-connect wifi module to connect to the network according to the network connection information;
obtaining (S30), when detecting data to be transmitted, data information corresponding to the data to be transmitted, wherein the data information includes data size;
determining a wifi module to perform data transmission according to the data size; and
controlling (S40) the wifi module to perform data transmission to transmit the data to be transmitted.