CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a U.S. National Stage Application, filed under 35 U.S.C. 371, of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2017/105909, filed Oct. 12, 2017, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201610889163.9, filed Oct. 12, 2016, disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical filed of intelligent home appliance control and, for example, to a method of connecting to a network for a home appliance, a home appliance, and a method of connecting to a network for a home appliance system.

BACKGROUND

Spatial compression and time extension are made possible by the three-network integration of the telecommunication network, the Internet, and the TV network as well as the “four screens in one” of a TV, a mobile phone, a PAD, and a computer. Intelligentization is the trend development of the times. After the three-network integration and the Internet of Things technology are applied, appliances such as refrigerators, electric lights, air conditioners, televisions, DVDs, stereos, microwave ovens, washing machines, etc. will enter the intelligent era, and the home appliances can be conveniently controlled by mobile phones or other integrated devices.

A home appliance system in the related art, as shown inFIG. 1, includes a home appliance1(a washing machine in the figure) internally provided with a WiFi module, a router2, a server3, and a mobile terminal4. The control of the mobile terminal4over the home appliance1is achieved through network connection. To achieve this intelligent control, the home appliance is first connected to the network, and most of the home appliances are displayed by the digital tube without a touch screen, so the WiFi module cannot be directly configured on the operation panel to be connected to the router. It is usually necessary to set the WiFi module to enter a hotspot mode, and then the mobile terminal is connected to the WiFi and indirectly sends router configuration information to the WiFi module, and finally the WiFi module is restarted to be connected to the router. This network connection method provides good compatibility, but the operations are cumbersome leading to poor user experience. There is another network connection method in which the WiFi module of the home appliance is set into a monitoring mode, the configuration information of the router is sent to the home appliance in a broadcast packet through the mobile terminal, and the home appliance receives the broadcast packet, then automatically parses the configuration information and is connected to the router. This method is easy to operate. The mobile terminal does not need to switch between networks during the configuration process, but the method is poorly compatible. If a special mobile terminal and router are encountered, the configuration cannot be successful.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a network connection method with good compatibility and simple operation for a home appliance, a home appliance using the network connection method, and a network connection method with good compatibility and simple operation for a home appliance system.

A method of connecting to a network for a home appliance includes the following operations.

A WiFi module in the home appliance receives network connection trigger message.

The WiFi module enters a monitoring mode according to the network connection trigger message.

If the WiFi module successfully receives and parses a network configuration information broadcast packet in the monitoring mode, the home appliance connects to network.

If the home appliance fails to connect to the network, the WiFi module enters a hotspot mode according to the network connection trigger message.

If the WiFi module successfully receives network configuration information in the hotspot mode, the home appliance connects to the network.

In some embodiments, the operations that the home appliance fails to connect to the network includes the following cases.

That is, the WiFi module fails to receive the network configuration information broadcast packet within a first preset period of time T1, or the WiFi module fails to parse the network configuration information broadcast packet within a second preset period of time T2.

In some embodiments, the method of connecting to the network for the home appliance further includes: in response to the WiFi module failing to receive the network configuration information within a third preset period of time T3, or in response to the WiFi module receiving the network configuration information within a fourth preset period of time T4but the home appliance fails to connect to the network, it is determined that the network connection fails and is ceased.

In some embodiments, the method further includes the following operations subsequent to that the network fails is ceased.

The home appliance automatically drives the WiFi module to enter the monitoring mode or the hotspot mode or to switch between the monitoring mode and the hotspot mode for connecting to the network within a preset time, or a button on the home appliance is touched for manually driving the WiFi module to enter the monitoring mode or the hotspot mode or to switch between the monitoring mode and the hotspot mode for connecting to the network within a preset time.

In some embodiments, a duration of the first preset period of time T1is less than or equal to that of the second preset period of time T2, and a duration of the third preset period of time T3is less than or equal to that of the fourth preset period of time T4.

In some embodiments, the operation of receiving the network connection trigger message includes the following cases: a button on the home appliance is touched to send the network connection trigger message to the WiFi module, and the WiFi module receives the network connection trigger message,

or in the case where the home appliance has not connected to a network or has not successfully connected to a network after being shipped from a factory, the WiFi module automatically receives the network connection trigger message after being turned on.

In some embodiments, the network configuration information broadcast packet or the network configuration information includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a service set identifier (SSID) and password information of a router, and a unique identification code of a mobile client.

There is also disclosed a home appliance that includes a processor, a memory, and a WiFi module.

The memory is configured to store a software program, a computer-executable program and module. The processor is configured to execute a plurality of functional applications and perform data processing by running the software program, instructions, and the module, enabling the WiFi module to connect to a network by using any of the methods mentioned above.

There is further disclosed a method of connecting to a network for a home appliance system that includes the following operations.

A mobile terminal is connected to a router.

A WiFi module in a home appliance enters a monitoring mode. If the WiFi module successfully receives and parses a router network configuration information broadcast packet sent by the mobile terminal, the home appliance connects to a network of the router, and when the mobile terminal finds the home appliance connected to the network of the router, the mobile terminal sends information of the home appliance and information of a user to a server.

If the home appliance fails to connect to the router network, the WiFi module enters a hotspot mode. If the WiFi module successfully receives router network configuration information sent by the mobile terminal, the home appliance connects to the router network, and when the mobile terminal finds the home appliance connected to the router network, the mobile terminal sends the information of the home appliance and the information of the user to the server.

In some embodiments, when the WiFi module is in the monitoring mode and the mobile terminal fails to find the home appliance connected the router network within a fifth preset period of time Ta, the mobile terminal fails to send the information of the home appliance and the information of the user to the server, and meanwhile if the mobile terminal finds a home appliance WiFi hotspot around the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal sends the router network configuration information to the WiFi module in the home appliance; and if the mobile terminal fails to find the WiFi hotspot of the home appliance around the mobile terminal, a network connection process of the home appliance system is stopped.

When the WiFi module is in the hotspot mode and the mobile terminal fails to find the home appliance communicating with the router network within a sixth preset period of time Tb, the network connection process of the home appliance system is stopped.

There is still further disclosed a home appliance system that includes a home appliance, a router, a server, and a mobile terminal. The home appliance includes a WiFi module configured to connect the home appliance to the router, where the home appliance connects to the server via the router.

The WiFi module is configured to receive network connection trigger message, and enter a monitoring mode according to the network connection trigger message. If a network configuration information broadcast packet is successfully received and parsed in the monitoring mode, the home appliance connects to a network; and if the home appliance fails to connect to the network, the WiFi module enters a hotspot mode according to the network connection trigger message, and if network configuration information is successfully received in the hotspot mode, the home appliance connect to the network.

The server is configured to provide home appliance management platform services. The service includes registration and management of a user account, binding and management of the home appliance and the user account, sending a control command to the home appliance, and receiving information reported by the home appliance.

The mobile terminal is in communication with the router and the server.

There is still further disclosed a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-executable instructions for executing the above methods.

A home appliance device is provided and includes one or more processors, a memory, a WiFi module, and one or more programs. The one or more programs are stored in the memory, and when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors enable the WiFi module to execute the above method.

A computer program product is provided and includes a computer program stored on a non-transient computer-readable storage medium. The computer program includes program instructions that, when executed by a computer, enable the computer to execute any method described above.

For the method of connecting to a network for the home appliance, the home appliance, and the method of connecting to a network for the home appliance system provided by the present disclosure, first the WiFi module in the home appliance is in the monitoring mode for network connection. If the network connection fails, the WiFi module enters the hotspot mode for network connection. This network connection method provides favorable compatibility, is simple in operation, has a high network connection efficiency, and provides favorable user experience. Home appliances using this network connection method are also easier to communicate with the network for achieving remote control.

