Patent Application
20220329502
None
The subject matter of this application relates to notifying service providers of Wi-Fi gateway issues, in particular systems and methods of notifying service providers of Wi-Fi gateway issues via associated or non-associated Wi-Fi devices, such as smart phones, tables, and/or desktop computers.
Generally, an end user is unaware of issues with a Wi-Fi gateway (e.g., residential gateway) until he or she tries to access, for example, the Internet, through the Wi-Fi gateway. Once there is an access issue, it generally is not straightforward for the end user to identify or detect the specific issue with the Wi-Fi gateway to allow the end user to notify the service provider of that issue. Instead, the end user must contact a customer service representative of the service provider. The customer service representative must then go through a time-consuming troubleshooting process with the end user to identify the specific issue, identify steps that will resolve that issue, and perform those steps.
What is desired, therefore, are systems and/or methods that notify service providers of Wi-Fi gateway issues while eliminating or minimizing the need for end users to be involved in the troubleshooting process.
For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
Referring to
At 204, information related to the detected issue is embedded by the Wi-Fi gateway in, for example, an IEEE 802.11 management frame, such as in a beacon frame. In some embodiments, the information related to the detected issue may be encrypted prior to embedding of the information in the management frame, and that encrypted information is embedded in the management frame. The information may be any information related to the Wi-Fi gateway issue, such as information regarding diagnosis, cause(s), solution(s), etc.
At 206, the IEEE 802.11 management frame is broadcasted by the Wi-Fi gateway. The IEEE 802.11 management frame may be transmitted periodically to all nearby associated and non-associated Wi-Fi devices to announce the presence of a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) and to synchronize the members of a service set. When the management frame is a beacon frame, the beacon frame may be transmitted by the Wi-Fi gateway in an infrastructure basic service set (BSS). An example of a beacon frame is further discussed below.
At 208, the IEEE 802.11 management frame with the embedded information is received via an application running on a Wi-Fi device. The Wi-Fi device may be connected to or associated with the Wi-Fi gateway that broadcasted the IEEE 802.11 management frame. Alternatively, the Wi-Fi device may be not connected to or not associated with that Wi-Fi gateway.
At 210, the embedded information is transmitted to the service provider via an application running on the Wi-Fi device. The transmission may occur via an access point different from the Wi-Fi gateway, such as a different gateway or access point. Alternatively, or additionally, the transmission may occur via one or more cellular signals (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.). In some embodiments, transmitting includes extracting the embedded information from the received IEEE 802.11 management frame via an application running on the Wi-Fi device. The extraction may be performed only on beacon frames of the particular Wi-Fi gateway and not on beacon frames of other Wi-Fi gateways. For example, the application may first determine if the beacon frame is from the particular Wi-Fi gateway associated with the Wi-Fi device and/or a user of the Wi-Fi device, and then extract and/or transmit embedded information from only beacon frames received from the particular Wi-Fi gateway associated with the Wi-Fi device and/or the user of the Wi-Fi device. The application in step 210 may be the same application or a different application from step 208.
Method 200 may, in some embodiments, include, at 212, notifying a user associated with the Wi-Fi gateway via an application running on the Wi-Fi device. For example, the application may provide a banner, a pop-up window, a badge via the display screen of the Wi-Fi device and/or may generate one or more sounds via the speaker of the Wi-Fi device. The application in step 212 may be the same or different from the application in steps 208 and/or 210. Method 200 may, in some embodiments, include, at 214, storing the embedded information via an application running on the Wi-Fi device. The application in step 214 may be the same or different from the application in steps 208, 210, and/or 212. Although
Referring to
Vendor specific element 312 includes an ID or tag number field 314, a length field 316, an Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) field 318, a vendor specific OUI type field 320, and an issue specific data field 322. The vendor specific OUI type field may include a flag that indicates a detected issue with the Wi-Fi gateway. Issue specific data field 322 can receive unencrypted (plain) or encrypted data or information. In the example shown in
Referring to
The memory 420 may store information within the hardware configuration 400. In one implementation, the memory 420 may be a computer-readable medium. In one implementation, the memory 420 may be a volatile memory unit. In another implementation, the memory 420 may be a non-volatile memory unit. In some implementations, the storage device 430 may be capable of providing mass storage for the hardware configuration 400. In one implementation, the storage device 430 may be a computer-readable medium. In various different implementations, the storage device 430 may, for example, include a hard disk device, an optical disk device, flash memory or some other large capacity storage device. In other implementations, the storage device 430 may be a device external to the hardware configuration 400.
The input/output device 440 provides input/output operations for the hardware configuration 400. In embodiments, the input/output device 440 may include one or more of a network interface device (e.g., an Ethernet card), a serial communication device (e.g., an RS-232 port), one or more universal serial bus (USB) interfaces (e.g., a USB 2.0 port), one or more wireless interface devices (e.g., an 802.11 card), and/or one or more interfaces for outputting video and/or data services to a CPE device, IP device, mobile device, or other device. In embodiments, the input/output device may include driver devices configured to send communications to, and receive communications from an advertisement decision system, an advertisement media source, and/or a CDN.
The subject matter of this disclosure, and components thereof, may be realized by instructions that upon execution cause one or more processing devices to carry out the processes and functions described above. Such instructions may, for example, comprise interpreted instructions, such as script instructions, e.g., JavaScript or ECMAScript instructions, or executable code, or other instructions stored in a computer readable medium.
Implementations of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification may be provided in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification may be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a tangible program carrier for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.
A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative or procedural languages, and it may be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a mark-up language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program may be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.
The processes and logic flows described in this specification are performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output thereby tying the process to a particular machine (e.g., a machine programmed to perform the processes described herein). The processes and logic flows may also be performed by, and apparatus may also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).
Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices); magnetic disks (e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks); magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD ROM disks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.
While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.
Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems may generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.
Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims may be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results, unless expressly noted otherwise. As one example, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In some implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.
It will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment that has been described, and that variations may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, as interpreted in accordance with principles of prevailing law, including the doctrine of equivalents or any other principle that enlarges the enforceable scope of a claim beyond its literal scope. Unless the context indicates otherwise, a reference in a claim to the number of instances of an element, be it a reference to one instance or more than one instance, requires at least the stated number of instances of the element but is not intended to exclude from the scope of the claim a structure or method having more instances of that element than stated. The word “comprise” or a derivative thereof, when used in a claim, is used in a nonexclusive sense that is not intended to exclude the presence of other elements or steps in a claimed structure or method.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63174407 | Apr 2021 | US |
