Patent Description:
With the widespread use of Internet-of-Things (IoT) products, people's lives are getting better than before, as things around them are connected to the Internet. Recently, home appliances including a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) module or a Bluetooth module that can be connected to the Internet have been widely distributed and used. In order to control a home appliance by using a communication network, the home appliance should transmit state information only to a user (owner), and the user should transmit a control command only to the home appliance that the user is using. Therefore, in order to monitor the state of the home appliance in real time and control the home appliance, a process of registering the home appliance in an loT server is essential.

Mobile devices such as smart phones or smart TVs include processors and displays, and thus user account information may be directly input when registering the device in an loT server. However, because a general home appliance does not include a processor or a display, there is a limitation in a method of inputting user account information when the home appliance is registered in the loT server. This limitation can be solved by using a mobile device such as a smart phone. Particularly, a method in which a smart phone mediates a process of connecting a home appliance to the Internet and a process of registering the home appliance in an loT server may be utilized. This scheme is referred to as 'Easy Setup', 'onboarding', or 'commissioning'.

The disclosure provides a home appliance and an operating method thereof. Particularly, an embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method, performed by a home appliance in a new product state, which is not registered in an Internet-of-Things (IoT) server, of obtaining user account information from a set-up cloud server by using a temporary password as an identification key and performing device registration in the loT server by using the obtained user account information, and a device for performing the method.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method may include, by a home appliance, obtaining access point information and information of a set-up cloud server, from a mobile device connected to the home appliance through device-to-device communication, transmitting a temporary password to the mobile device through the device-to-device communication, establishing a communication connection with the set-up cloud server by using the obtained access point information and the obtained information of the set-up cloud server, obtaining user account information from the set-up cloud server by using the temporary password as an identification key, and registering the home appliance in an Internet-of-Things (IoT) server by providing information of the home appliance and the obtained user account information to the loT server.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the temporary password may be a one-time password (OTP).

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the temporary password may consist of an arbitrarily generated random number and at least one of characters, numbers, or a combination thereof, which indicate device identification information.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user account information may be obtained from the set-up cloud server based on a mapping of the user account information with the temporary password in a key-value format in the set-up cloud server.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the obtaining of the user account information may include transmitting, to the set-up cloud server through the communication connection with the set-up cloud server, the temporary password and a query signal for requesting the user account information, and obtaining, from the set-up cloud server, the user account information based on a mapping of the user account information with the temporary password in a key-value format in the set-up cloud server.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the method may further include, by the home appliance, receiving, from the mobile device, a user authentication process request signal for requesting an authentication process with respect to ownership of the home appliance, receiving an authentication input from a user in response to the received user authentication process request signal, and transmitting information about the authentication input to the mobile device.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, in the transmitting of the temporary password, the temporary password may be transmitted to the mobile device according to a result of a user authentication by the mobile device based on the transmitted information about the authentication input.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the obtaining of the user account information may include obtaining, from the set-up cloud server, server connection information including at least one of an internet protocol (IP) address of the loT server, an access token of the loT server, a location identifier (ID) of the home appliance, a room ID, a nickname, or an access point name (APN).

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the registering of the home appliance may include establishing a communication connection with the loT server by using the server connection information, signing in to the loT server by using the user account information, and registering the home appliance with the user account by transmitting at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information of the home appliance.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a home appliance may include a communication interface configured to perform data communication with a server or a mobile device, a memory storing at least one instruction, and at least one processor configured to execute the at least one instruction stored in the memory to obtain access point information and information of a set-up cloud server from the mobile device connected to the home appliance through device-to-device communication, by using the communication interface, generate a temporary password comprising a random number, transmit the temporary password to the mobile device by using the communication interface, establish a communication connection with the set-up cloud server by using the obtained access point information and the obtained information of the set-up cloud server, obtain user account information from the set-up cloud server by using the temporary password as an identification key, and perform device registration in an Internet-of-Things (IoT) server by providing information of the home appliance and the obtained user account information to the loT server.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user account information may include a user identifier (ID) and a password.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the at least one instruction to control the communication interface to transmit, to the set-up cloud server, the temporary password and a query signal for requesting the user account information, and obtain the user account information based on a mapping of the user account information with the temporary password in a key-value format in the set-up cloud server.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance may further include a user input unit, and the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the at least one instruction to receive, from the mobile device through the communication interface, a user authentication process request signal for requesting an authentication process with respect to ownership of the home appliance, receive an authentication input from a user through the user input unit in response to the received user authentication process request signal, and control the communication interface to transmit, to the mobile device, information about the authentication input.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the at least one instruction to control the communication interface to transmit the temporary password to the mobile device according to a result of a user authentication by the mobile device based on the transmitted information about the authentication input.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the at least one instruction to control the communication interface to obtain, from the set-up cloud server, server connection information including at least one of an internet protocol (IP) address of the loT server, an access token of the loT server, a location ID of the home appliance, a room ID, a nickname, and an access point name (APN).

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the at least one instruction to establish a communication connection with the loT server by using the server connection information, sign in to the loT server by using the user account information, control the communication interface to transmit at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information of the home appliance, and register the home appliance in the loT server in association with the user account information.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, provided is a computer program product including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by a home appliance for performing a method disclosed herein.

Although the terms used in the disclosure are selected from among common terms that are currently widely used in consideration of their function in the disclosure, the terms may be different according to an intention of one of ordinary skill in the art, a precedent, or the advent of new technology. Also, in particular cases, the terms are discretionally selected by the applicant of the disclosure, in which case, the meaning of those terms will be described in detail in the corresponding part of the detailed description. Therefore, the terms used in the disclosure are not merely designations of the terms, but the terms are defined based on the meaning of the terms and content throughout the disclosure.

The singular expression also includes the plural meaning as long as it does not inconsistent with the context. Unless otherwise defined, all terms, including technical and scientific terms, used herein may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which the disclosure pertains based on an understanding of the disclosure.

Throughout the disclosure, when an element "includes" an element, unless there is a particular description contrary thereto, the element may further include other elements, not excluding the other elements. Also, the terms described in the specification, such as ". er (or)", ". unit", etc., denote a unit that performs at least one function or operation, which may be implemented as hardware or software or a combination thereof.

The expression "configured to" used in the specification may be exchanged with, for example, "suitable for", "having the capacity to", "designed to", "adapted to", "made to", or "capable of" in accordance with circumstances. The term "configured to" does not necessarily indicate only "specifically designed to" in terms of hardware. Instead, in a certain circumstance, the expression "a system configured to" may indicate the system "capable of" together with another device or components. For example, "a processor configured to perform A, B, and C" may indicate an exclusive processor (e.g., an embedded processor) configured to perform a corresponding operation or a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor) capable of performing corresponding operations by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory.

In the disclosure, it should be understood that when elements are "connected" or "coupled" to each other, the elements may be directly connected or coupled to each other, but may alternatively be connected or coupled to each other with an intervening element therebetween, unless specified otherwise.

A 'set-up cloud server' used herein is a server for providing user account information to a home appliance for Easy Setup, which is a process for registering a home appliance in an Internet-of-Things (IoT) server by using a mobile device. The set-up cloud server maps the user account information with a temporary password and stores the user account information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the set-up cloud server may store, in a key-value format, the temporary password as a key and the mapped user account information as a value. The set-up cloud server may be a server separate from the loT server, but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the set-up cloud server may be a module included in the loT server.

The 'loT server' used herein is a server for registering a device (e.g., a mobile device or a home appliance) connected to a communication network, according to user account information. The loT server may store information of a device which is registered in association with a user account. The loT server may store, for example, at least one of an identification value (e.g., a device ID) of the device, a type of the device, resource information related to functional capability information of the device, or profile information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the loT server may store a control command for controlling a registered device to execute a certain function and/or operation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that those of skill in the art may easily carry out the disclosure. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments of the disclosure set forth herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<FIG> is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method, performed by a home appliance <NUM>, of performing device registration in an loT server <NUM> through a device-to-device communication connection with a mobile device <NUM> and a device-to-server communication connection with a set-up cloud server <NUM> and the loT server <NUM>, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM> may provide various functions while communicating with the mobile device <NUM>, the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and the loT server <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> may be, for example, any one of a washing machine, a refrigerator, a Kimchi refrigerator, a TV, an air conditioner, an air purifier, a cleaning robot, a vacuum cleaner, a clothing care system, an oven, a microwave oven, an induction range, an audio output device, or a smart home hub device.

The home appliance <NUM> may access the set-up cloud server <NUM> and the loT server <NUM> and may be registered in the loT server <NUM>. Also, the home appliance <NUM> may provide various functions through an application which is executed by the mobile device <NUM>. The application may operate in association with the loT server <NUM>. The application may provide functions of monitoring, control, automation, voice assistant, and the like of the home appliance <NUM>.

In order to provide such application functions, the home appliance <NUM> needs to be registered in the mobile device <NUM> and the loT server <NUM> and be communicatively connected to the mobile device <NUM> and the loT server <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> in a new product state, i.e., in a state in which the home appliance <NUM> is not yet registered in the loT server <NUM> after being shipped at a factory, is unable to perform the functions of the application and various functions and/or operations provided by the loT server <NUM>. This new product state is referred to as an out-of-box (OOB) state.

The term 'new product state' used herein refers to a state in which the home appliance <NUM> is not registered in the loT server <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> is registered in the loT server <NUM> in association with a certain user account. The home appliance <NUM> may be managed as a device of the certain user account, and may be monitored and controlled by another device logged in with the user account associated with the home appliance <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM>, which is not registered in the loT server <NUM>, may generate and output information indicating that the home appliance <NUM> is in the new product state and needs to be registered in the loT server <NUM>.

The home appliance <NUM> in the new product state may establish a device-to-device (D2D) communication connection with the mobile device <NUM>, and then establish a device-to-server (D2S) communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM> and the loT server <NUM>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may utilize software-enabled access point (SoftAP) that enables the home appliance <NUM> to be recognized as a virtual access point (AP) for a communication connection. The 'SoftAP' is implemented as software that is a wireless local area network (LAN) client but also serves as a wireless AP. The SoftAP may operate in the same manner as does a wireless AP. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> executes the SoftAP by using a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) module. The mobile device <NUM> may establish a Wi-Fi communication connection with the home appliance <NUM> and perform Wi-Fi communication with the home appliance <NUM>, by accessing the SoftAP of the home appliance <NUM>. The Wi-Fi communication connection established between the mobile device <NUM> and the home appliance <NUM> by using the SoftAP may be performed through a Wi-Fi Direct scheme.

The home appliance <NUM> may receive information of a home AP <NUM> and information of the set-up cloud server <NUM> from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection. The home AP <NUM> is a device for connecting wireless devices to a wired communication cable so as to enable data communication. The home AP <NUM> may include a router connected to a wired communication network and a wireless communication module for a wireless communication network. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may receive, from the mobile device <NUM>, a service set identifier (SSID) and password information of the home AP <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> may also receive information about an encryption type of the home AP <NUM>. Also, the home appliance <NUM> may receive, from the mobile device <NUM>, internet protocol (IP) address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> obtains user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM>, instead of receiving the user account information from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection. The mobile device <NUM> may transmit the user account information to the set-up cloud server <NUM>. Also, the home appliance <NUM> receives, from the set-up cloud server <NUM>, the user account information transmitted from the mobile device <NUM>.

The home appliance <NUM> may establish the D2S communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the received information of the home AP <NUM> and the received IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> may perform the D2S communication connection by using, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, Wi-Fi, Wireless Broadband Internet (WiBro), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig), a legacy cellular network (e.g., third generation (<NUM>) or Long-Term Evolution (LTE)), a fifth-generation (<NUM>) network, or the like.

The home appliance <NUM> may obtain the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the D2S communication connection. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may obtain the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using a temporary password as an identification key. A method, performed by the home appliance <NUM>, of obtaining the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the temporary password will be described in detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

The home appliance <NUM> may receive server connection information from the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and may establish the D2S communication connection with the loT server <NUM> by using the server connection information. Here, the 'server connection information' may include, for example, at least one of an IP address of the loT server <NUM>, an access token of the loT server <NUM>, a location identifier (ID) of the home appliance <NUM>, a room ID, a nickname, or an AP name (APN). The home appliance <NUM> may access (e.g., sign in to) the loT server <NUM> by using the server connection information, and perform device registration in association with the user account information. The home appliance <NUM> may be associated with a certain user account of the loT server <NUM> through a device registration process.

As a comparative example, in the related art, in order to register the home appliance <NUM> in the loT server <NUM>, the home appliance <NUM> uses a method of obtaining the information of the home AP <NUM>, the server connection information of the loT server <NUM>, and the user account information, from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection, and performing device registration in the loT server <NUM> through a D2S connection by using the obtained information of the AP <NUM>, the obtained server connection information, and the obtained user account information. However, because the D2D communication connection performs data communication by using a user datagram protocol (UDP) scheme, the data packet loss rate is higher than that of the D2S communication connection using a transmission control protocol (TCP) scheme. That is, in the existing scheme, the user account information is transmitted by using the UDP scheme, the user account information is highly likely to be lost in a communication process as compared with the TCP scheme.

In the device registration process of registering the home appliance in the loT server <NUM>, the home appliance <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure receives the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the D2S communication connection, instead of receiving the user account information from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection, thereby reducing the loss rate of the user account information. In addition, the home appliance <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure uses the temporary password as the identification key when receiving the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and thus may verify and prevent registration of the home appliance performed by another user. Accordingly, the home appliance <NUM> of the disclosure provides a technical effect of enhancing the security in the process of registering the device in the loT server <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating components of the home appliance <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The home appliance <NUM> is an electronic device that performs a preset function or operation. The home appliance <NUM> is at a certain location in the home. The home appliance <NUM> may include, for example, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a Kimchi refrigerator, a TV, an air conditioner, an air purifier, a cleaning robot, a vacuum cleaner, a clothing care system, an oven, a microwave oven, an induction range, an audio output device, a smart home hub device, and the like.

Referring to <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM> may include a communication interface <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>. The communication interface <NUM>, the processor <NUM>, and the memory <NUM> may be electrically and/or physically connected to each other.

The components illustrated in <FIG> are only those according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and the components included in the home appliance <NUM> are not limited to those illustrated in <FIG>. The home appliance <NUM> may not include some of the components illustrated in <FIG>, and may further include components not illustrated in <FIG>. For example, the home appliance <NUM> may further include a display unit for displaying a user interface (UI) regarding a function or a UI indicating operation information. As another example, the home appliance <NUM> may further include a speaker for outputting a voice or sound signal.

The communication interface <NUM> is configured to perform data communication with an external server or the mobile device <NUM> (see <FIG>) through a wired or wireless communication network.

The communication interface <NUM> may include a short-range wireless communication module that performs data communication with the mobile device <NUM> by using a short-range wireless communication scheme. The short-range wireless communication module may be configured as at least one hardware module of, for example, a Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) communication unit, a Bluetooth communication unit, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication unit, a near-field communication (NFC) unit, a Zigbee communication unit, an Ant+ communication unit, or a microwave (µWave) communication unit, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication interface <NUM> may perform data communication with a server (e.g., the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>) or the loT server <NUM> (see <FIG>)) by using a long-range communication scheme. For example, the communication interface <NUM> may establish a D2D communication connection with the home AP <NUM> (see <FIG>) through Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi direct, and may perform data communication with the set-up cloud server <NUM> or the loT server <NUM> through a long-range communication network connected to the home AP <NUM>. The communication interface <NUM> may include, in addition to the short-range wireless communication module, a wireless communication module (e.g., a legacy cellular communication module, a <NUM> communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module), or a wired communication module (e.g., a LAN communication module, or a power line communication module).

The processor <NUM> may execute one or more instructions or program code stored in the memory <NUM>, and perform a function and/or an operation corresponding to the instructions or the program code. The processor <NUM> may include a hardware component for performing arithmetic operations, logic operations, input/output operations, and signal processing. For example, the processor <NUM> may include, for example, at least one of central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, graphics processing units (GPUs), application processors (APs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), but is not limited thereto.

In <FIG>, the processor <NUM> is illustrated as one element, but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the disclosure, one or more processors <NUM> may be provided.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may include a dedicated hardware chip that performs artificial intelligence (AI) learning.

The memory <NUM> may store instructions and program code which are readable by the processor <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may include, for example, at least one of a flash memory-type storage medium, a hard disk-type storage medium, a multimedia card micro-type storage medium, a card-type memory (e.g., an SD or XD memory), random access memory (RAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disc, or an optical disc.

In the following embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be implemented by executing instructions or program code of a program stored in the memory <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may establish the D2D communication connection with the mobile device <NUM> (see <FIG>) by using the communication interface <NUM>. For example, the processor <NUM> may perform a D2D communication connection with the mobile device <NUM> by using a Wi-Fi Direct communication scheme. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may perform a SoftAP operation such that the communication interface <NUM> operates as a SoftAP. The processor <NUM> may execute predefined instructions for performing the SoftAP operation, to control the communication interface <NUM> to operate as the SoftAP. The processor <NUM> may assign an SSID to the communication interface <NUM>, and set the assigned SSID as an SSID of the SoftAP. As the mobile device <NUM> accesses the SoftAP through the SSID of the communication interface <NUM>, the D2D communication connection between the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> may be established.

The processor <NUM> may obtain the information of the home AP <NUM> (see <FIG>) and the information of the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>) from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection. For example, the processor <NUM> may receive information about an SSID, a password, and an encryption type of the home AP <NUM>. For example, the processor <NUM> may receive the IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may transmit, to the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection, device information including at least one of device identification information (e.g., a device ID), a device type, ownership state information, or operation state information.

The processor <NUM> does not receive user account information from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection. The processor <NUM> may generate a temporary password to obtain the user account information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may generate the temporary password by using an arbitrarily generated random number and at least one of characters, numbers, which indicate device identification information (e.g., a device ID), or a combination thereof. The temporary password may be, for example, a one-time password (OTP). The processor <NUM> may transmit the temporary password to the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection.

The processor <NUM> may control the communication interface <NUM> to perform a communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the obtained information of the home AP <NUM> and the obtained information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, by using the SSID and the password of the home AP <NUM>, and the IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may access the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and establish the D2S communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may obtain the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the temporary password as an identification key. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may transmit, to the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>, a query signal for requesting user account information mapped to the temporary password. The processor <NUM> may transmit the query signal together with the temporary password to the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

The set-up cloud server <NUM> may store at least one user account mapped to at least one temporary password. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the set-up cloud server <NUM> may include a user account database <NUM> (see <FIG>) that maps and stores a plurality of temporary passwords with a plurality of pieces of user account information, in a key-value format. The user account database <NUM> will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>.

The processor <NUM> may obtain, from the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>, user account information mapped to a temporary password in a key-value format. The user account information may include, for example, a user ID and password information. Here, the 'user ID' may be an ID, an email address, or an identification value of the email address, which is set by a user.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may receive, from the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>, server connection information for accessing the loT server <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may receive the server connection information including, for example, at least one of an IP address of the loT server <NUM>, an access token of the loT server <NUM>, a location ID of the home appliance <NUM>, a room ID, a nickname, or an APN.

The processor <NUM> may control the communication interface <NUM> to establish the D2S communication connection with the loT server <NUM> by using the server connection information. The processor <NUM> may sign in to the loT server <NUM> by using the user account information. The processor <NUM> may register the home appliance <NUM> in a user account by transmitting at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information of the home appliance <NUM> through the D2S communication connection. Here, the 'resource information' may be, for example, information about power supply, a mode (e.g., a standard mode, a blanket mode, a towel mode, or the like when the home appliance <NUM> is a washing machine, or a cooling function, a dehumidifying mode, a wind-free mode, or the like when the home appliance <NUM> is an air conditioner), and a function of the home appliance <NUM>. The 'profile information' may be information about at least one of a firmware version, an application version, or an Easy Setup version of the home appliance <NUM>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may receive, from the mobile device <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>, a user authentication request signal for requesting authentication of the ownership of the home appliance <NUM>. As the user authentication request signal is received, the processor <NUM> may receive an authentication input from the user. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may further include a user input unit for receiving a user authentication input. When a user authentication input request signal for authenticating whether the home appliance <NUM> is owned is received from the mobile device <NUM> (see <FIG>), the user input unit may receive a user authentication input under the control by the processor <NUM>. The user input unit may be configured as hardware such as a button, a switch, a jog switch, or a touch pad. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the user input unit may be configured as a touch screen configured to receive a touch input and display a graphical user interface (GUI).

The 'authentication input' refers to an input for authenticating that the user who intends to register the home appliance <NUM> in the loT server <NUM> is a genuine owner of the home appliance <NUM>. The authentication input may be, for example, an input of pressing a button of the home appliance <NUM> or a touch input on a touch pad, but is not limited thereto. For example, the authentication input may be an input of pressing a button in an outer housing of the home appliance <NUM>.

When the authentication input is received, the processor <NUM> may transmit, to the mobile device <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM> information about the authentication input. The 'information about the authentication input' refers to information indicating that the user has been authenticated as the genuine owner of the home appliance <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may transmit a temporary password to the mobile device <NUM> only when the user authentication input is received. A method, performed by the home appliance <NUM>, of receiving the user authentication input will be described in detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may further include a home appliance function module <NUM> (see <FIG>) configured to perform an original function and/or operation of the home appliance <NUM>. The home appliance function module <NUM> may include, for example, a cooler, a container, a door, a temperature sensor, a door opening/closing sensor, a lamp, and the like, which are provided in a refrigerator. As another example, the home appliance function module <NUM> may include a washing tub, a motor, a door, a door opening/closing sensor, a water supply unit, a drain unit, and the like, which are provided in a washing machine. As another example, the home appliance function module <NUM> may include a vacuum suction assembly, a dust container, a brush, and the like, which are provided in a vacuum cleaner.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of the home appliance <NUM>, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In operation S310, the home appliance <NUM> obtains AP information and set-up cloud server information from the mobile device <NUM> (see <FIG>). The home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> may transmit and receive data through a D2D communication connection. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the home appliance <NUM> may control, by executing predefined instructions or program code, the communication interface <NUM> (see <FIG>) to operate as a SoftAP. When the communication interface <NUM> operates as the SoftAP, the mobile device <NUM> may access the home appliance <NUM> through an SSID of the SoftAP, and thus the D2D communication connection may be established. The communication connection between the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> may be, for example, data communication using Wi-Fi Direct. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto.

The home appliance <NUM> may receive, from the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection, access information of the home AP <NUM> (see <FIG>) and information of the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may receive information of the home AP <NUM> including information about an SSID, a password, and an encryption type of the home AP <NUM>, and IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may transmit, to the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection, device information including at least one of device identification information (e.g., a device ID), a device type, ownership state information, or operation state information.

In operation S320, the home appliance <NUM> transmits a temporary password to the mobile device <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may generate the temporary password by using an arbitrarily generated random number and at least one of characters, numbers, which indicate device identification information (e.g., a device ID), or a combination thereof. The temporary password may be, for example, an OTP. The home appliance <NUM> may transmit the temporary password to the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection.

In operation S330, the home appliance <NUM> performs a communication connection with the set-up cloud server by using the obtained AP information and set-up cloud server information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may access the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the information of the home AP <NUM> (e.g., the SSID, password, and encryption type of the AP <NUM>) and the information of the set-up cloud server <NUM> (e.g., the IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>), which are obtained in operation S310, and establish a D2S communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

In operation S340, the home appliance <NUM> obtains user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the temporary password as an identification key. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may transmit, to the set-up cloud server <NUM>, a query signal for requesting user account information mapped to the temporary password, together with the temporary password. The home appliance <NUM> may obtain the user account information mapped to the temporary password in a key-value format, among at least one user account stored in the set-up cloud server <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may receive the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the D2S communication connection.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may receive, from the set-up cloud server <NUM>, server connection information for accessing the loT server <NUM>. For example, the home appliance <NUM> may receive the server connection information including, for example, at least one of an IP address of the loT server <NUM>, an access token of the loT server <NUM>, a location ID of the home appliance <NUM>, a room ID, a nickname, or an APN.

In operation S350, the home appliance <NUM> registers the home appliance to the user account information in the loT server <NUM> by providing the user account information and home appliance information to the loT server <NUM> (see <FIG>). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may establish a D2S communication connection with the loT server <NUM> by using the server connection information. The home appliance <NUM> may sign in to the loT server <NUM> by using the user account information. The home appliance <NUM> may register the home appliance <NUM> in a user account by transmitting, through the D2S communication connection, the user account information and at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information of the home appliance <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating components of the mobile device <NUM>, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The mobile device <NUM> executes an application (e.g., a SmartThings application) stored in a memory <NUM>, to perform operations of accessing the home appliance <NUM> and registering the home appliance <NUM> in the loT server <NUM>. The mobile device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be implemented in various forms. The mobile device <NUM> may be, but is not limited to, a smart phone. The mobile device <NUM> may be, for example, a tablet personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a digital camera, an electronic book terminal, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation system, or an MP3 player. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile device <NUM> may be a wearable device. The wearable device may include at least one of an accessory-type device (e.g., a watch, a ring, a cuff band, an ankle band, a necklace, spectacles, and a contact lens), a head-mounted device (HMD), a textile or garment-integrated device (e.g. electronic garments), a body attachment device (e.g., a skin pad), or a bio-implantable device (e.g., an implantable circuit).

Referring to <FIG>, the mobile device <NUM> may include a communication interface <NUM>, a camera <NUM>, a user input unit <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, and a display <NUM>. The communication interface <NUM>, the camera <NUM>, the user input unit <NUM>, the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, and the display <NUM> may be electrically and/or physically connected to each other.

The components illustrated in <FIG> are only those according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and the components included in the mobile device <NUM> are not limited to those illustrated in <FIG>. The mobile device <NUM> may not include some of the components illustrated in <FIG>, and may further include components not illustrated in <FIG>. For example, the mobile device <NUM> may further include a sensor such as a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, or a gyro sensor. As another example, the mobile device <NUM> may further include a biometric recognition sensor such as a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or a face recognition sensor.

The communication interface <NUM> is configured to perform data communication with the home appliance <NUM> or the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>) through a wired or wireless communication network. For example, the communication interface <NUM> may include a short-range wireless communication module including at least one of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, a Bluetooth communication module, BLE, NFC, Zigbee, an Ant+ communication module, or a microwave (µWave) communication module, and a mobile communication module including at least one of a legacy cellular communication module, a <NUM> communication module, or a GNSS communication module.

The communication interface <NUM>, under the control by the processor <NUM>, may access the SoftAP of the home appliance <NUM>, so as to perform a D2D communication connection with the home appliance <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication interface <NUM> may establish the D2D communication connection with the communication interface <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the home appliance <NUM> through Wi-Fi Direct.

The communication interface <NUM> may transmit, to the home appliance <NUM>, information of the home AP <NUM> (see <FIG>) and access information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>, under the control by the processor <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication interface <NUM> may transmit, to the home appliance <NUM>, AP information including information about an SSID, a password, and an encryption type of the home AP <NUM>, and IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

The communication interface <NUM> may receive, from the home appliance <NUM>, device information including at least one of device identification information (e.g., a device ID), a device type, ownership state information, or operation state information of the home appliance <NUM>.

The camera <NUM> is a component for capturing a quick response (QR) code or barcode provided in the home appliance <NUM>. The camera <NUM>, under the control by the processor <NUM>, captures an image of the QR code or barcode and provides the captured image to the processor <NUM> in order to authenticate the ownership of the user.

The user input unit <NUM> receives, from the outside (e.g., the user) of the mobile device <NUM>, a command or data to be used for a component of the mobile device <NUM>. The user input unit <NUM> may include, for example, at least one of a touch screen, a touch pad, a key, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user input unit <NUM> may receive a user input for inputting user account information (e.g., a user ID and a password). In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user input unit <NUM> may also receive, from the user of the home appliance <NUM>, a user authentication input for authenticating that the user is the owner.

The processor <NUM> may execute one or more instructions or program code stored in the memory <NUM>, and perform a function and/or an operation corresponding to the instructions or the program code. The processor <NUM> may include a hardware component for performing arithmetic operations, logic operations, input/output operations, and signal processing. For example, the processor <NUM> may include, for example, at least one of CPUs, microprocessors, GPUs, APs, ASICs, DSPs, DSPDs, PLDs, or FPGAs, but is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may include a dedicated hardware chip that performs Al learning.

The memory <NUM> may store instructions and program code which are readable by the processor <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may include, for example. at least one of a flash memory-type storage medium, a hard disk-type storage medium, a multimedia card micro-type storage medium, card-type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory), RAM, SRAM, ROM, EEPROM, PROM, magnetic memory, a magnetic disc, or an optical disc.

The processor <NUM> may receive a temporary password from the home appliance <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the temporary password may be an OTP. The processor <NUM> may combine user account information and an OTP, which are input through the user input unit <NUM>, and store the combined information in the memory <NUM>. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the mobile device <NUM> may further include a storage unit separate from the memory <NUM>, and may store the user account information and the OTP in the storage unit. The storage unit may include a non-volatile memory.

The processor <NUM> may transmit the user account information and the OTP to the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>) through the communication interface <NUM>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may determine, based on the ownership state information of the home appliance <NUM> received from the home appliance <NUM>, whether the home appliance <NUM> is already registered with another user account. When it is determined that the home appliance <NUM> is not owned by the user, the processor <NUM> may receive a user authentication input for resetting the ownership state of the home appliance <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user authentication input may include an input of capturing (or recognizing, scanning) the QR code or barcode provided in the home appliance <NUM> through the camera <NUM> or an input of receiving user authentication information from the home appliance <NUM> through an NFC module. A detailed embodiment in which the processor <NUM> receives the user authentication input for resetting the ownership state of the home appliance <NUM> will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>.

The display <NUM> is configured to display an execution screen or a GUI of an application. The display <NUM> may be configured as a physical device including at least one of a liquid-crystal display (LCD), a thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, a three-dimensional (3D) display, or an electrophoretic display, but is not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the display <NUM> may be configured as a touch screen including a touch interface. When the display <NUM> is configured as a touch screen, the display <NUM> may be a component integrated with the user input unit <NUM> configured as a touch panel.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the display <NUM> may display a GUI for receiving a user authentication input under the control by the processor <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of the home appliance <NUM>, the mobile device <NUM>, the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and the loT server <NUM>, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment of device registration in which the home appliance <NUM> registers the home appliance <NUM> in the loT server <NUM> through a D2D communication connection with the mobile device <NUM>, and a D2S communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM> and the loT server <NUM>.

In operation S502, the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> establish a D2D communication connection. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may perform a SoftAP operation such that the communication interface <NUM> (see <FIG>) operates as a SoftAP. The home appliance <NUM> may assign an SSID to the communication interface <NUM>, and set the assigned SSID as an SSID of the SoftAP. The mobile device <NUM> may access the SoftAP through the SSID of the communication interface <NUM> of the home appliance <NUM>, and thus the D2D communication connection between the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> may be performed. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> may be connected to each other by using a Wi-Fi Direct communication scheme.

In operation S504, the mobile device <NUM> transmits, to the home appliance <NUM>, home AP information and set-up cloud server information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile device <NUM> may transmit, to the home appliance <NUM> through the D2D communication connection, information of the home AP <NUM> including information about an SSID, a password, and an encryption type of the home AP <NUM> (see <FIG>), and the IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>).

In operation S506, the home appliance <NUM> generates a temporary password. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may generate the temporary password by using an arbitrarily generated random number and at least one of characters, numbers, or a combination thereof, which indicate device identification information. The temporary password may be, for example, an OTP.

In operation S508, the home appliance <NUM> transmits the temporary password to the mobile device <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may transmit the temporary password to the mobile device <NUM> through the D2D communication connection.

In operation S510, the mobile device <NUM> maps and stores user account information with the temporary password. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile device <NUM> may map and store user account information which is input through a device registration application (e.g., a SmartThings application) with the temporary password received from the home appliance <NUM>. The 'user account information' may include, for example, a user ID and password information. Here, the 'user ID' may be an ID, an email address, or an identification value of the email address, which is set by a user.

In operation S512, the mobile device <NUM> transmits the temporary password and the user account information to the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

In operation S514, the set-up cloud server <NUM> maps and stores the temporary password with the user account information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the set-up cloud server <NUM> may map and store a plurality of temporary passwords with a plurality of pieces of user account information, in a key-value format. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user account database <NUM> (see <FIG>) included in the set-up cloud server <NUM> may store a plurality of OTPs <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n (see <FIG>) (hereinafter, also referred to as the second OTP <NUM>-<NUM>) as keys, and a plurality of pieces of corresponding user account information <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n (see <FIG>) (hereinafter, also referred to as the plurality of user accounts <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n, and the second user account information <NUM>-<NUM>) as values. The user account database <NUM> will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>.

In operation S516, the home appliance <NUM> establishes a device-to-server communication connection D2S with the set-up cloud server <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> may perform a communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the information of the home AP <NUM> and the information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>, which are received in operation S504. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may access the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the SSID and the password of the home AP <NUM>, and the IP address information of the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and may establish the D2S communication connection with the set-up cloud server <NUM>.

In operation S518, the home appliance <NUM> transmits, to the set-up cloud server <NUM>, a query signal for requesting user account information, and the temporary password. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the query signal is a signal for requesting user account information mapped to the temporary password used as an identification key.

In operation S520, the set-up cloud server <NUM>, in response to the query signal, identifies the user account information mapped to the temporary password. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the set-up cloud server <NUM> may identify, among the plurality of user accounts <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n, which are pre-stored in the user account database <NUM>, the user account mapped to the temporary password received from the home appliance <NUM> in a key-value format.

In operation S522, the set-up cloud server <NUM> transmits the identified user account information to the home appliance <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the set-up cloud server <NUM> may transmit, to the home appliance <NUM>, server connection information for accessing the loT server <NUM>, in addition to the user account information. For example, the set-up cloud server <NUM> may transmit, to the home appliance <NUM>, the server connection information including at least one of an IP address of the loT server <NUM>, an access token of the loT server <NUM>, a location ID of the home appliance <NUM>, a room ID, a nickname, or an APN.

In operation S524, the home appliance <NUM> transmits, to the loT server <NUM>, the user account information and home appliance information. The home appliance <NUM> may sign in to the loT server <NUM> by using the server connection information received from the set-up cloud server <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> may transmit at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information of the home appliance <NUM>, together with the user account information. Here, the 'resource information' may be, for example, information about power supply, a mode (e.g., a standard mode, a blanket mode, a towel mode, or the like when the home appliance <NUM> is a washing machine, or a cooling function, a dehumidifying mode, a wind-free mode, or the like when the home appliance <NUM> is an air conditioner), and a function of the home appliance <NUM>. The 'profile information' may be information about at least one of a firmware version, an application version, or an Easy Setup version of the home appliance <NUM>.

In operation S526, the loT server <NUM> associates the home appliance information with the user account information to perform device registration.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the home appliance <NUM> of the disclosure obtains user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using an OTP as an identification key and performs device registration in the loT server <NUM> by using the obtained user account information.

Referring to <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM>, the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and the loT server <NUM> may be connected to each other, and transmit and receive data to and from each other, through a D2S communication connection. The home appliance <NUM> may be connected to a communication interface <NUM> of the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>.

The home appliance <NUM> may transmit an OTP <NUM> and home appliance information <NUM>, which are stored in the memory <NUM>, to the set-up cloud server <NUM> through the communication interface <NUM>. The OTP <NUM> is a temporary password generated by the home appliance <NUM>, and may include an arbitrarily generated random number and at least one of characters, numbers, which indicate device identification information (e.g., a device ID), or a combination thereof. The home appliance information <NUM> may include, for example, at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information. <FIG> illustrates that the OTP <NUM> and the home appliance information <NUM> are stored in the memory <NUM>, but this is merely exemplary, and the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the OTP <NUM> and the home appliance information <NUM> may be stored in a storage unit which is separate from the memory <NUM>. The storage unit may include, for example, a non-volatile memory.

The set-up cloud server <NUM> may include the communication interface <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, and the user account database <NUM>. The communication interface <NUM> may transmit and receive data to and from the home appliance <NUM> by using, for example, at least one of a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, Wi-Fi, WiBro, WiMAX, shared wireless access protocol (SWAP), WiGig, a legacy network (e.g., <NUM> communication network, LTE), a <NUM> communication network, or radio frequency (RF) communication. The communication interface <NUM> receives an OTP from the communication interface <NUM> of the home appliance <NUM> and provides the received OTP to the processor <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may identify, from the user account database <NUM>, user account information that matches the OTP by using the OTP as an identification key.

The user account database <NUM> is a database that maps and stores at least one OTP with at least one piece of user account information in a key-value format. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the user account database <NUM> may store the plurality of OTPs <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n as keys and the plurality of pieces of corresponding user account information <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n as values.

The user account database <NUM> may include a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory refers to a recording medium that may store and retain information even when power is not supplied, and may use the stored information when power is supplied The non-volatile memory may include at least one of a flash memory, a hard disk, a solid-state drive (SSD), a multimedia card micro-type memory, a card-type memory (e.g., an SD or XD memory), ROM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The processor <NUM> may compare the OTP <NUM> received from the home appliance <NUM> with the plurality of OTPs <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n stored in the user account database <NUM>, and identify the same OTP. The processor <NUM> may identify, among the plurality of user accounts <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n stored in the user account database <NUM>, a user account mapped to the identified OTP in the key-value format. In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the processor <NUM> may identify, among the plurality of OTPs <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n, the second OTP <NUM>-<NUM>, which is the same as the OTP <NUM> received from the home appliance <NUM>, and identify the second user account information <NUM>-<NUM>, which is a user account mapped to the second OTP <NUM>-<NUM> as an identification key. The processor <NUM> may extract the identified second user account information <NUM>-<NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may provide the extracted second user account information <NUM>-<NUM> to the communication interface <NUM>.

The communication interface <NUM> may transmit the second user account information <NUM>-<NUM> to the communication interface <NUM> of the home appliance <NUM>.

The home appliance <NUM> may transmit, to the loT server <NUM>, the second user account information <NUM>-<NUM> received through the communication interface <NUM> and the home appliance information <NUM> stored in the memory <NUM>.

The loT server <NUM> may store the second user account information <NUM>-<NUM> and the home appliance information <NUM> in a home appliance registration database <NUM>, thereby registering the home appliance <NUM> in association with the user account information.

In the embodiments illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, because the home appliance <NUM> obtains the user account information from the mobile device <NUM> by using the temporary password such as an OTP, and obtains the user account information from the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using the temporary password as the identification key, a situation in which the user account information of the user who intends to register the home appliance <NUM>, among the plurality of pieces of user account information <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n pre-stored in the user account database <NUM> of the set-up cloud server <NUM>, is incorrectly input may be prevented in advance, and the accuracy of device registration may be improved. In addition, because the home appliance <NUM> of the disclosure performs device registration through the user account information obtained by using the temporary password, it is possible to prevent another user, who is not the genuine owner of the home appliance <NUM>, from remotely registering and controlling the home appliance <NUM> through the mobile device <NUM>, and thus a technical effect of enhancing security may be provided.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method, performed by the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM>, of performing user authentication, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In operation S702, the home appliance <NUM> and the mobile device <NUM> establish a D2D communication connection.

In operation S704, the mobile device <NUM> transmits, to the home appliance <NUM>, home AP information and set-up cloud server information.

Operations S702 and S704 are the same as operations S502 and S504 shown in <FIG>, respectively, and thus repetitive descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In operation S706, the home appliance <NUM> transmits, to the mobile device <NUM>, device identification information, a device type, ownership state information, and operation state information of the home appliance <NUM>. Here, the 'ownership state information' refers to information about whether the home appliance <NUM> is previously registered with another user account. In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the home appliance <NUM> is already registered with another user account, the ownership state information may include registered user account information. When the home appliance <NUM> is not registered with any user account, the ownership state information may include new product state (i.e., OOB) information.

In operation S708, the mobile device <NUM> determines whether the home appliance <NUM> is owned, based on the ownership state information. The mobile device <NUM> may determine, based on the ownership state information received from the home appliance <NUM>, whether the user of the mobile device <NUM> is a genuine owner of the home appliance <NUM>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile device <NUM> may determine, based on the ownership state information, whether the home appliance <NUM> is already registered with another user account.

When it is determined, based on the ownership state information, that the home appliance <NUM> is in the new product state, which means that the home appliance <NUM> is not registered with any user account (operation S710), the mobile device <NUM> transmits a user authentication request signal to the home appliance <NUM>. Even when it is determined, based on the ownership state information, that the home appliance <NUM> is not registered with any user account, the mobile device <NUM> may request user authentication in order to determine whether the user of the mobile device <NUM> is the genuine owner of the home appliance <NUM>.

In operation S712, upon receipt of the user authentication request signal from the mobile device <NUM>, the home appliance <NUM> receives an authentication input from the user. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may receive a user authentication input through the user input unit.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the home appliance <NUM> receives a user authentication input through the user input unit. Referring to operation S712 of <FIG> together with the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM> may receive a user authentication input of pressing a button <NUM> exposed to the outside. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the button <NUM> may be preset to receive a user authentication input, and the home appliance <NUM> may determine that a user authentication input is received upon receipt of a user input of pressing the button <NUM> for a preset time (e.g., <NUM> seconds). The user authentication input is illustrated as pressing the externally exposed hardware button <NUM> in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, but the user authentication input is not limited to being received through the button <NUM>. For example, the button <NUM> may be replaced with a touch pad or a touch screen, and a user authentication input may be received through a touch input received through the touch pad or the touch screen.

The user authentication input is not limited to the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may include a display (not shown) and display, on the display, certain characters, numbers, or symbols for authentication, and the mobile device <NUM> may perform user authentication by receiving, through an executed application (e.g., a SmartThings application), a user input of inputting the characters, numbers, or symbols displayed on the display of the home appliance <NUM>.

Referring back to <FIG>, in operation S714, the home appliance <NUM> transmits, to the mobile device <NUM>, information about the user authentication input.

In operation S716, the mobile device <NUM> performs user a authentication process.

In operation S718, the mobile device <NUM> transmits a user authentication process signal to the home appliance <NUM>.

When it is determined, based on the ownership state information, that the home appliance <NUM> is already registered with another user account rather than the user account with which the mobile device <NUM> is logged in (operation S722), the mobile device <NUM> determines whether a home appliance ownership reset input is received from the user. The home appliance ownership reset input refers to a user authentication input for resetting the ownership state information of the home appliance <NUM> which is already registered with another user account. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance ownership reset input may be received through the mobile device <NUM>. The mobile device <NUM> may perform a user authentication process by receiving the home appliance ownership reset input. An embodiment in which the mobile device <NUM> performs a user authentication process of the home appliance <NUM> will be described in detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

When the home appliance ownership reset input is received, the mobile device <NUM> performs a user authentication process (operation S716).

The home appliance <NUM> determines whether to transmit a temporary password to the mobile device <NUM>, according to a user authentication result. In an embodiment of the disclosure, when the user authentication process is successfully performed by the mobile device <NUM>, the home appliance <NUM> may transmit the temporary password to the mobile device <NUM>. Operations S506 and S508 illustrated in <FIG> may be performed after operation S718 of <FIG> is performed.

When the home appliance ownership reset input is not received, the mobile device <NUM> terminates the device registration (operation S724). In this case, the home appliance <NUM> does not transmit the temporary password to the mobile device <NUM>.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the mobile device <NUM> of the disclosure obtains user authentication information from the home appliance <NUM> and performs a user authentication process.

Referring to <FIG>, the mobile device <NUM> may obtain the user authentication information by capturing user authentication information indicated on the exterior of the home appliance <NUM>. The mobile device <NUM> may include the camera <NUM> (refer to <FIG>), and may capture the user authentication information on the exterior of the home appliance <NUM> by using the camera <NUM>. The user authentication information may be printed or attached on an authentication information area <NUM> of the housing of the home appliance <NUM>.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user authentication information includes a QR code <NUM>. The QR code <NUM> may include information corresponding to the user authentication information. The mobile device <NUM> may capture the QR code <NUM> by using the camera <NUM>, and recognize the captured QR code <NUM> to obtain the user authentication information.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the user authentication information includes a barcode <NUM>. The barcode <NUM> may include information corresponding to the user authentication information. The mobile device <NUM> may capture the barcode <NUM> by using the camera <NUM>, and recognize the captured barcode <NUM> to obtain the user authentication information.

The QR code <NUM> or the barcode <NUM> may be linked to an address of a preset cloud server configured to perform user authentication. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the QR code <NUM> or the barcode <NUM> may be linked to the set-up cloud server <NUM> (see <FIG>). The mobile device <NUM> having captured the QR code <NUM> or the barcode <NUM> may access the set-up cloud server <NUM> by using its IP address such that user authentication is performed by the set-up cloud server <NUM>. The mobile device <NUM> may receive, from the set-up cloud server <NUM>, authentication completion information indicating that the user authentication is completed. The 'authentication completion information' may be information previously registered in the home appliance <NUM>. For example, the authentication completion information may be predefined identification information.

In another embodiment of the disclosure, the user authentication information includes a serial number <NUM>. The serial number <NUM> may include information corresponding to the user authentication information. The mobile device <NUM> may capture the serial number <NUM> by using the camera <NUM>, and recognize the captured serial number <NUM> to obtain the user authentication information.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may include at least one of the QR code <NUM>, the barcode <NUM>, or the serial number <NUM>, or a combination thereof. The home appliance <NUM> may provide various combinations of user authentication information so as to selectively collect user authentication information according to functions supported by the mobile device <NUM> (e.g., camera functions, QR code recognition, barcode recognition, etc.) or a user's preference.

Although not illustrated in the embodiment of <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM> may include a display and display at least one of the QR code <NUM>, the barcode <NUM>, or the serial number <NUM> on the display. The mobile device <NUM> may also obtain the user authentication information by capturing the QR code <NUM>, the barcode <NUM>, or the serial number <NUM> displayed through the display of the home appliance <NUM>.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the mobile device <NUM> of the disclosure performs a user authentication process by using an NFC scheme.

Referring to <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM> may transmit the user authentication information to the mobile device <NUM> in the NFC scheme. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may include an NFC tag area <NUM>. When the mobile device <NUM> is at a position adjacent to the NFC tag area <NUM> of the home appliance <NUM> by a preset interval, the mobile device <NUM> may receive the user authentication information from the home appliance <NUM> through NFC. In an embodiment of the disclosure, after the D2D communication connection D2D is established, the mobile device <NUM> may display a guide UI for instructing the user to place the mobile device <NUM> adjacent to the NFC tag area <NUM>. The user may place the mobile device <NUM> adjacent to the NFC tag area <NUM> according to the guide UI displayed by the mobile device <NUM>. When the user places the mobile device <NUM> adjacent to the NFC tag area <NUM>, the mobile device <NUM> may receive the user authentication information from the home appliance <NUM>.

The mobile device <NUM> may perform a user authentication process by using the received user authentication information.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method, performed by the home appliance <NUM>, the set-up cloud server <NUM>, and the loT server <NUM>, of performing device registration, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In operation S1010, the set-up cloud server <NUM> transmits server connection information to the home appliance <NUM>. The 'server connection information' refers to connection information to the loT server <NUM> for the home appliance <NUM> to access the loT server <NUM> and establish a D2S communication connection. The set-up cloud server <NUM> may transmit, to the home appliance <NUM>, the server connection information including, for example, at least one of an IP address of the loT server <NUM>, an access token of the loT server <NUM>, a location ID of the home appliance <NUM>, a room ID, a nickname, or an APN.

In operation S1020, the home appliance <NUM> establishes the D2S communication connection by using the server connection information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance <NUM> may perform the D2S communication connection with the loT server <NUM> through the APN of the home AP <NUM>. The D2S communication connection may be performed through, for example, at least one data communication network of a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, Wi-Fi, WiBro, WiMAX, SWAP, WiGig, a legacy network (e.g., <NUM> communication network, LTE), a <NUM> communication network, or RF communication. The home appliance <NUM> and the loT server <NUM> may transmit and receive a control signal and data through the D2S communication connection.

In operation S1030, the home appliance <NUM> attempts to sign in to the loT server <NUM> by using user account information. The user account information may include, for example, a user ID and password information. Here, the 'user ID' may be an ID, an email address, or an identification value of the email address, which is set by the user.

In operation S1040, the loT server <NUM> permits the account access.

In the case where the user account with which the home appliance <NUM> attempts to access is not registered in the loT server <NUM>, the procedure is terminated.

In operation S1050, the loT server <NUM> transmits an account access permission signal to the home appliance <NUM>.

In operation S1060, the home appliance <NUM> transmits, to the loT server <NUM>, at least one of device identification information, a device type, resource information, or profile information of the home appliance <NUM>. The 'resource information' may be, for example, information about power supply, a mode (e.g., a standard mode, a blanket mode, a towel mode, or the like when the home appliance <NUM> is a washing machine, or a cooling function, a dehumidifying mode, a wind-free mode, or the like when the home appliance <NUM> is an air conditioner), and a function of the home appliance <NUM>. The 'profile information' may be information about at least one of a firmware version, an application version, or an Easy Setup version of the home appliance <NUM>.

In operation S1070, the loT server <NUM> registers the home appliance <NUM> based on the received information. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the loT server <NUM> may store the device identification information, the device type, the resource information, and the profile information received from the home appliance <NUM> in association with the user account information used in operation S1030. As the loT server <NUM> associates and stores the user account with the information of the home appliance <NUM>, the home appliance <NUM> is completely registered in the loT server <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a home appliance <NUM>, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The home appliance <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> may correspond to the home appliance <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, the home appliance <NUM> may include a sensor <NUM>, an output interface <NUM>, an input interface <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a communication unit <NUM>, the home appliance function module <NUM>, a power module <NUM>, and a processor <NUM>. The home appliance <NUM> may be configured by various combinations of the components illustrated in <FIG>, and the components illustrated in <FIG> are not essential components.

The home appliance <NUM> of <FIG> may correspond to the home appliance <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>, the memory <NUM> may correspond to the memory <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>, the processor <NUM> may correspond to the processor <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>, and the communication unit <NUM> may correspond to the communication interface <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>. Therefore, descriptions of the memory <NUM>, the communication unit <NUM>, and the processor <NUM>, which are the same as the descriptions of the memory <NUM>, the communication interface <NUM>, and the processor <NUM> of <FIG> will be omitted.

The sensor <NUM> may include various types of sensors, and, for example, the sensor <NUM> may include various types of sensors such as an image sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a lidar sensor, a human body detection sensor, a motion detection sensor, a proximity sensor, an illumination sensor, etc. Functions of the sensors may be intuitively inferred by those of skill in the art from their names, and thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

The output interface <NUM> may include a display <NUM> and an audio output unit <NUM>. The audio output unit <NUM> may be implemented as, for example, a speaker. The output interface <NUM> outputs various notifications, messages, information, and the like generated by the processor <NUM>.

The input interface <NUM> may include a key <NUM> and a touch screen <NUM>. The input interface <NUM> receives a user input and transmits the user input to the processor <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> stores various information, data, instructions, programs, and the like necessary for the operation of the home appliance <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may include at least one of a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof. The memory <NUM> may include at least one of a flash memory-type storage medium, a hard disk-type storage medium, a multimedia card micro-type storage medium, a card-type memory (e.g., an SD or XD memory), RAM, SRAM, ROM, EEPROM, PROM, a magnetic memory, a magnetic disc, or an optical disc. Also, the home appliance <NUM> may operate a web storage or a cloud server that performs a storage function on the Internet.

The communication unit <NUM> may include at least one of a short-range wireless communication module <NUM> and a long-range communication module <NUM>, or a combination thereof. The communication unit <NUM> may include at least one antenna for wirelessly communicating with other devices.

The short-range wireless communication module <NUM> may include, but is not limited to, a Bluetooth communication module, a BLE communication module, an NFC module, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication module, a Zigbee communication module, an Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communication module, a WFD communication module, an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication module, an Ant+ communication module, a microwave (uWave) communication module, and the like.

The long-range communication module <NUM> may include a communication module for performing various types of long-range communication, and may include a mobile communication unit. The mobile communication unit transmits and receives wireless signals to and from at least one of a base station, an external terminal, or a server, on a mobile communication network. Here, the wireless signals may include various types of data based on transmission and reception of voice call signals, video call signals, or text/multimedia messages.

The home appliance function module <NUM> includes an operation module that performs an original function of the home appliance <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates that the home appliance function module <NUM> includes a washing module, a refrigerating/freezing module, a drying module, and a cleaning module, however, the disclosure is not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the home appliance function module <NUM> may include a module specialized for a function of a certain home appliance. For example, when the home appliance <NUM> is a washing machine, the home appliance function module <NUM> includes the washing module. The washing module may include a washing tub, a water supply unit, a drainage unit, a motor, a door, a detergent inlet, and the like. As another example, when the home appliance <NUM> is a refrigerator, the home appliance function module <NUM> may include the refrigerating/freezing module. The refrigerating/freezing module may include a container, a cooler, a door, a temperature sensor, and the like. For example, when the home appliance <NUM> is a dryer, the home appliance function module <NUM> may include the drying module. The drying module may include a laundry container, a motor, a dehumidifier, a drainage unit, a door, a dust filter, a condenser, and the like. For example, when the home appliance <NUM> corresponds to a vacuum cleaner, the home appliance function module <NUM> may include the cleaning module. The cleaning module may include a vacuum suction unit, a dust container, a filter, a dust transfer pipe, and the like.

The processor <NUM> controls the overall operation of the home appliance <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may execute a program stored in the memory <NUM> to control the components of the home appliance <NUM>.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may include a separate neural processing unit (NPU) that performs the operation of a machine learning model. In addition, the processor <NUM> may include a CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU), and the like.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating components of a mobile device <NUM> in a network environment, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

The mobile device <NUM> of <FIG> may correspond to the mobile device <NUM> described above. The processor <NUM> of the mobile device <NUM> described with reference to <FIG> may correspond to a processor <NUM> of <FIG>, and the communication interface <NUM> described with reference to <FIG> may correspond to a communication module <NUM> of <FIG>. Also, the memory <NUM> described in <FIG> may correspond to a memory <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. In addition, the home appliance <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>may correspond to an electronic device <NUM> or an electronic device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG>, in the network environment, the mobile device <NUM> may communicate with the electronic device <NUM> through a first network (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or may communicate with at least one of the electronic device <NUM> or a server <NUM> through a second network (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile device <NUM> may communicate with the electronic device <NUM> through the server <NUM>. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the mobile device <NUM> may include the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, an input module <NUM>, an audio output module <NUM>, a display module <NUM>, a battery <NUM>, a power management module <NUM>, an audio module <NUM>, a sensor module <NUM>, a haptic module <NUM>, a camera module <NUM>, an interface <NUM>, a connection terminal <NUM>, the communication module <NUM>, a subscriber identification module <NUM>, or an antenna module <NUM>. In some embodiments of the disclosure, at least one of these components (e.g., the connection terminal <NUM>) may be omitted from the mobile device <NUM> or one or more other components may be added to the mobile device <NUM>. In some embodiments of the disclosure, some of these components (e.g., the sensor module <NUM>, the camera module <NUM>, or the antenna module <NUM>) may be integrated into one component (e.g., the display module <NUM>).

The processor <NUM> may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program <NUM>) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the mobile device <NUM> connected to the processor <NUM>, and may perform various data processing or computation. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, as at least part of the data processing or computation, the processor <NUM> may store a command or data received from another component (e.g., the sensor module <NUM> or the communication module <NUM>) in a volatile memory <NUM>, process the command or the data stored in the volatile memory <NUM>, and store resulting data in a non-volatile memory <NUM>. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the processor <NUM> may include a main processor <NUM> (e.g., a CPU or an AP) or an auxiliary processor <NUM> (e.g., a GPU, an NPU, an image signal processor, a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor) that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with the main processor <NUM>. For example, when the mobile device <NUM> includes the main processor <NUM> and the auxiliary processor <NUM>, the auxiliary processor <NUM> may be configured to consume less power than the main processor <NUM>, or to be specialized for a specified function. The auxiliary processor <NUM> may be implemented separately from, or as part of the main processor <NUM>.

The auxiliary processor <NUM> may, for example, control at least some of functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the display module <NUM>, the sensor module <NUM>, or the communication module <NUM>) among the components of the mobile device <NUM>, on behalf of the main processor <NUM> while the main processor <NUM> is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor <NUM> while the main processor <NUM> is in an active (e.g., executing an application) state. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the auxiliary processor <NUM> (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another functionally relevant component (e.g., the camera module <NUM> or the communication module <NUM>). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the auxiliary processor <NUM> (e.g., a neural network processing device) may include a hardware structure specialized for processing of an artificial intelligence model. The artificial intelligence model may be generated through machine learning. Such learning may be performed, for example, by the mobile device <NUM> in which the artificial intelligence model is performed, or may be performed through a separate server (e.g., the server <NUM>). Learning algorithms may include, for example, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning, but are not limited thereto. The artificial neural network may be a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), a deep Q-network, or a combination of two or more of thereof, but is not limited thereto. The artificial intelligence model may additionally or alternatively include a software structure in addition to the hardware structure.

The memory <NUM> may store various data used by at least one component (e.g., the processor <NUM> or the sensor module <NUM>) of the mobile device <NUM>. The data may include, for example, software (e.g., the program <NUM>) and input data or output data for a command related thereto.

The program <NUM> may be stored in the memory <NUM> as software, and may include, for example, an application <NUM>, middleware <NUM>, or an operating system <NUM>.

The input module <NUM> may receive, from the outside (e.g., the user) of the mobile device <NUM>, a command or data to be used by a component (e.g., the processor <NUM>) of the mobile device <NUM>.

The audio output module <NUM> may output an audio signal to the outside of the mobile device <NUM>. The audio output module <NUM> may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes, such as reproducing multimedia or record. The receiver may be used to receive an incoming call. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the receiver may be implemented separately from, or as part of the speaker.

The display module <NUM> may visually provide information to the outside (e.g., the user) of the mobile device <NUM>. The display module <NUM> may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector, and a control circuit for controlling a corresponding device. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the display module <NUM> may include a touch sensor configured to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor configured to measure the intensity of force generated by the touch.

The battery <NUM> may supply power to at least one component of the mobile device <NUM>. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the battery <NUM> may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary cell, a rechargeable secondary cell, or a fuel cell.

The power management module <NUM> may manage power supplied to the mobile device <NUM>. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the power management module <NUM> may be implemented, for example, as at least part of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

The audio module <NUM> may convert a sound into an electrical signal, or may convert an electrical signal into a sound. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the audio module <NUM> may obtain the sound through the input module <NUM> or may output the sound through the audio output module <NUM> or an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>) (e.g., a speaker or a headphone) directly or wirelessly connected to the mobile device <NUM>.

The sensor module <NUM> may detect an operational state (e.g., power or temperature) of the mobile device <NUM> or an external environmental state (e.g., a user state), and generate an electrical signal or a data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the sensor module <NUM> may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

The haptic module <NUM> may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., vibration or movement) or an electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user through his/her tactile or motion sensation. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the haptic module <NUM> may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

The camera module <NUM> may capture a still image and a moving image. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the camera module <NUM> may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

The interface <NUM> may support one or more specified protocols that may be used for the mobile device <NUM> to be connected to an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>) directly or wirelessly. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the interface <NUM> may include, for example, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface.

The connection terminal <NUM> may include a connector through which the mobile device <NUM> may be physically connected with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the connection terminal <NUM> may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

The communication module <NUM> may support establishment of a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the mobile device <NUM> and an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>, the electronic device <NUM>, or the server <NUM>) and performing of communication through the established communication channel. The communication module <NUM> may include one or more communication processors that are operable independently from the processor <NUM> (e.g., an AP) and support direct (e.g., wired) communication or wireless communication. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the communication module <NUM> may include a wireless communication module <NUM> (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a GNSS communication module) or a wired communication module <NUM> (e.g., a LAN communication module, or a power line communication module). A corresponding communication module of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic device <NUM> through the first network (e.g., a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, or IrDA) or the second network (e.g., a long-range communication network such as a legacy cellular network, a <NUM> network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., a LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communication modules may be integrated into one component (e.g., a single chip) or may be implemented as a plurality of components (e.g., a plurality of chips) that are separate from each other. The wireless communication module <NUM> may use subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module <NUM> to identify or authenticate the mobile device <NUM> in a communication network, such as the first network or the second network.

The wireless communication module <NUM> may support <NUM> network and next-generation communication technology after <NUM> network, for example, new radio (NR) access technology. The NR access technology may support high-speed transmission of high-capacity data (enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)), terminal power minimization and multiple terminal accesses (massive machine-type communications (mMTC)), or ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). The wireless communication module <NUM> may support a high-frequency band (e.g., a mmWave band), for example, to achieve a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication module <NUM> may support various techniques for securing performance in a high-frequency band, for example, beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beamforming, or large-scale antenna. The wireless communication module <NUM> may support various requirements specified in the mobile device <NUM>, an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>), or a network system (e.g., the second network). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the wireless communication module <NUM> may support a peak data rate (e.g., <NUM> Gbps or greater) for implementing eMBB, loss coverage (e.g., <NUM> dB or less) for implementing mMTC, or U-plane latency (e.g., <NUM> or less for each of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or a round trip of <NUM> or less) for implementing URLLC.

The antenna module <NUM> may transmit or receive a signal or power to or from the outside (e.g., an external electronic device). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the antenna module <NUM> may include an antenna including a radiator including a conductive material or a conductive pattern formed on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the antenna module <NUM> may include a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna). In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication scheme used in a communication network such as the first network or the second network may be selected from the plurality of antennas by, for example, the communication module <NUM>. The signal or the power may be transmitted or received between the communication module <NUM> and an external electronic device through the selected at least one antenna. According to some embodiments of the disclosure, a component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other than the radiator may be additionally formed as part of the antenna module <NUM>.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the antenna module <NUM> may form a mmWave antenna module. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the mmWave antenna module may include a PCB, a RFIC arranged on a first surface (e.g., the bottom surface) of the PCB, or adjacent to the first surface and capable of supporting a specified high-frequency band (e.g., a mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna) arranged on a second surface (e.g., the top or a side surface) of the PCB, or adjacent to the second surface and capable of transmitting or receiving signals of the specified high-frequency band.

At least some of the components may be connected to each other through a communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general-purpose input and output (GPIO), a serial peripheral interface (SPI), or a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)) between peripheral devices, and exchange signals (e.g., commands or data) with each other.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the mobile device <NUM> and the external electronic device <NUM> through the server <NUM> connected to the second network. Each of the external electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM> may be of the same type as, or a different type from the mobile device <NUM>. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, all or some of the operations executed in the mobile device <NUM> may be executed in one or more external electronic devices among the external electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM>, or the server <NUM>. For example, when the mobile device <NUM> needs to perform some functions or services automatically, or in response to a request from the user or another device, the mobile device <NUM> may request one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the functions or services, instead of, or in addition to executing the functions or services by itself. The one or more external electronic devices having received the request may execute the at least part of the requested functions or services or an additional function or service related to the request, and transmit a result of the execution to the mobile device <NUM>. The mobile device <NUM> may provide the result, with or without further processing of the result, as at least part of a response to the request. To this end, for example, cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used. The mobile device <NUM> may provide an ultra-low latency service by using, for example, distributed computing or MEC. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the external electronic device <NUM> may include an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the external electronic device <NUM> or the server <NUM> may be included in the second network. The mobile device <NUM> may be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart homes, smart cities, smart cars, or health care) based on <NUM> communication technologies and loT-related technologies.

The term "module" used in various embodiments of the disclosure may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as "logic", "logic block", "part", or "circuitry". For example, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, a module may be implemented in the form of an ASIC.

Various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented as software (e.g., a program) including one or more instructions stored in a storage medium readable by a machine (e.g., the home appliance <NUM>, the mobile device <NUM>). For example, a processor of the machine (e.g., the home appliance <NUM> or the mobile device <NUM>) may invoke at least one instruction of the stored one or more instructions from the storage medium and execute it. This enables the device to be operated to perform at least one function according to the invoked at least one instruction. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter.

Here, the term 'non-transitory' merely means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), and this term does not distinguish whether data is stored in the storage medium semi-permanently or temporarily.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method according to various embodiments disclosed in the disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc-ROM (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online through an application store (e.g., PlayStore™), or between two user devices (e.g., smart phones) directly. In the case of online distribution, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily stored, or temporarily generated, on a storage medium such as a manufacturer's server, a server of an application store, or a memory of a relay server.

Claim 1:
A method comprising:
by a home appliance,
obtaining access point information and information of a set-up cloud server, from a mobile device connected to the home appliance through device-to-device communication;
transmitting a temporary password to the mobile device through the device-to-device communication;
establishing a communication connection with the set-up cloud server by using the obtained access point information and the obtained information of the set-up cloud server;
obtaining user account information from the set-up cloud server by using the temporary password as an identification key; and
registering the home appliance in an Internet-of-Things, IoT, server by providing information of the home appliance and the obtained user account information to the loT server.