Method for joining a Zigbee device to a Zigbee network and corresponding Zigbee device

Abstract

A method for joining a Zigbee device to a Zigbee network, includes starting a Zigbee protocol stack and a Bluetooth protocol stack on the Zigbee device, sending out Zigbee requests to seek for Zigbee networks, sending out Bluetooth beacon messages containing a Zigbee install code, wherein the Zigbee requests and the Bluetooth beacon messages are sent out in a time division multiplex manner.

Claims

1. A method for joining a Zigbee device to a Zigbee network, the method comprising: starting a Zigbee protocol stack and a Bluetooth protocol stack on the Zigbee device; sending out, to a first wireless communication device, Zigbee requests to seek a Zigbee network; and sending out, to a second wireless communication device, Bluetooth beacon messages containing a Zigbee install code; wherein the Zigbee requests and the Bluetooth beacon messages are sent out in a time division multiplex manner; and wherein the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device are different devices.

2. A method for joining a Zigbee device to a Zigbee network, the method comprising: starting a Zigbee protocol stack and a Bluetooth protocol stack on the Zigbee device; sending out Zigbee requests to seek a Zigbee network and sending out Bluetooth beacon messages containing a Zigbee install code, wherein the Zigbee requests and the Bluetooth beacon messages are sent out in a time division multiplex manner; receiving a Bluetooth beacon message sent out by the Zigbee device with a Bluetooth communication device; obtaining the Zigbee install code from the Bluetooth beacon message; sending the Zigbee install code to a trust center device of the Zigbee network; and joining the Zigbee device to the Zigbee network using the Zigbee install code.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein sending the Zigbee install code to the trust center device of the Zigbee network comprises: sending the Zigbee install code from the Bluetooth communication device to a server; and sending the Zigbee install code from the server to the trust center device of the Zigbee network.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein at least one of sending the Zigbee install code from the Bluetooth communication device to the server and sending the Zigbee install code from the server to the trust center device of the Zigbee network is carried out over TCP/IP.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: ceasing to send out Bluetooth beacon messages containing the Zigbee install code once the Zigbee device has been joined to the Zigbee network.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the Bluetooth beacon messages are sent out encrypted.

7. A Zigbee device configured to join a Zigbee network according to the method of claim 2, the Zigbee device comprising: at least one processing means configured to: start the Zigbee protocol stack and the Bluetooth protocol stack on the Zigbee device; send out the Zigbee requests to seek for Zigbee networks; and send out the Bluetooth beacon messages containing the Zigbee install code; wherein the Zigbee device is configured to send out the Zigbee requests and the Bluetooth beacon messages in the time division multiplex manner.

8. The Zigbee device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one processing means is further configured to at least one of: cease sending out Bluetooth beacon messages containing the Zigbee install code once the Zigbee device has been joined to the Zigbee network; and send out the Bluetooth beacon messages encrypted.

9. The Zigbee device according to claim 7, further comprising: memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processing means; a transmitter communicatively coupled with the at least one processing means; and an antenna communicatively coupled with the transmitter.

10. The Zigbee device according to claim 7, wherein the Zigbee device is a lighting device or a lamp.

11. The method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of: the Zigbee requests are Zigbee beacon requests; and the Bluetooth beacon messages further contain a MAC address.

12. The method according to claim 2, wherein the Zigbee device is a lighting device or a lamp.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth beacon messages are sent out encrypted.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of: the Zigbee requests are Zigbee beacon requests; and the Bluetooth beacon messages further contain a MAC address.

15. A Zigbee device configured to join a Zigbee network according to the method of claim 1, the Zigbee device comprising: at least one processing means configured to: start the Zigbee protocol stack and the Bluetooth protocol stack on the Zigbee device; send out the Zigbee requests to seek for Zigbee networks; and send out the Bluetooth beacon messages containing the Zigbee install code; wherein the Zigbee device is configured to send out the Zigbee requests and the Bluetooth beacon messages in the time division multiplex manner.

16. The Zigbee device according to claim 15, wherein the at least one processing means is further configured to at least one of: cease sending out Bluetooth beacon messages containing the Zigbee install code once the Zigbee device has been joined to the Zigbee network; and send out the Bluetooth beacon messages encrypted.

17. The Zigbee device according to claim 15, further comprising: memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processing means; a transmitter communicatively coupled with the at least one processing means; and an antenna communicatively coupled with the transmitter.

18. The Zigbee device according to claim 15, wherein the Zigbee device is a lighting device or a lamp.

19. The Zigbee device according to claim 15, wherein the Zigbee device is configured to transmit but not receive a Bluetooth signal.

20. The Zigbee device according to claim 7, wherein the Zigbee device is configured to transmit but not receive a Bluetooth signal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred embodiments of the invention will be explained in the following, having regard to the drawings. It is shown in:

(2) FIG. 1 a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method according to the invention; and

(3) FIG. 2 schematically a system for carrying out a method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(4) In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or similar elements or elements having the same effect may be indicated by the same reference number in multiple drawings. Repeating the description of such elements may be omitted in order to prevent redundant descriptions.

(5) In FIG. 1, an embodiment of a method according to the present invention is shown as a flow diagram. In step 100, a Zigbee device 10, for example a lighting device such as a lamp (often called “smart lamp”), is powered up for the first time after manufacturing (or after it has been reset to factory settings). The Zigbee device 10 is not yet joined to a Zigbee network. Thus, the processing means 12 of the Zigbee device 10 boots a Zigbee protocol stack and a Bluetooth protocol stack on the Zigbee device. Both protocol stacks run quasi-simultaneously on the processing means 12 in a multitasking manner.

(6) In step 110, the processing means 12 reads the Zigbee install code and the EUI64 of the Zigbee device 10 from a memory 14 of the Zigbee device 10. The Zigbee install code and the EUI64 are encrypted by the processing means 12.

(7) In step 120, the Zigbee device 10 broadcasts Zigbee requests to seek for Zigbee networks. This may happen in the form of beacon requests, i.e. periodic Zigbee messages intended to trigger a response from a coordinator device 40 (trust center) of an available Zigbee network. These Zigbee beacon requests also allow the coordinator device 40 to determine that a new Zigbee device 10 intends to join the Zigbee network.

(8) In parallel to the Zigbee beacon requests in step 120, the encrypted Zigbee install code and the EUI64 are sent out via Bluetooth beacon messages in step 130. Zigbee beacon requests in step 120 and Bluetooth beacon messages in step 130 are sent out in a time division multiplex manner. In particular, a Bluetooth beacon message including the Zigbee install code and the EUI64 may be sent out after every or after every few Zigbee beacon requests.

(9) In step 132, the Bluetooth beacon messages are received by a Bluetooth communication device 20, such as a smartphone or tablet computer running an application looking for the Bluetooth beacon messages. The encrypted Zigbee install code and the EUI64 may be decrypted by the application running on the Bluetooth communication device 20.

(10) In step 134, the Zigbee install code and the EUI64 are sent to the coordinator device 40, allowing the coordinator device 40 to start the joining process.

(11) In step 140, the coordinator device 40 may communicate with the Zigbee device 10 in order to join the Zigbee device 10 to the Zigbee network. As the Bluetooth beacon messages with the Zigbee install code and the EUI64 are no longer required, the Zigbee device 10 ceases broadcasting these messages.

(12) FIG. 2 schematically shows a system for carrying out a method according to the invention. The system comprises a Zigbee device 10 having a processing means 12 and a memory 14 for storing the Zigbee install code and the EU164 of the Zigbee device 10.

(13) The system further comprises a Bluetooth communication device 20 such as a smartphone or a tablet computer. The Bluetooth communication device 20 is able to run an application for receiving Bluetooth beacon messages and for communicating either with a Zigbee coordinator device 40 or with a server 30.

(14) The system also comprises a Zigbee coordinator device 40 (trust center, also called Zigbee gateway).

(15) As Zigbee and Bluetooth are short range communication protocols, the Zigbee device 10, the Bluetooth communication device 20, and the Zigbee coordinator device 40 are usually located in close proximity to each other, in particular on the same premises.

(16) The system furthermore comprises a server 30, which may be a computing device to which the Bluetooth communication device connects via the internet (also known as a “cloud server”). The server 30, therefore, needs not to be on the same premises as the Zigbee device 10, the Bluetooth communication device 20, and the Zigbee coordinator device 40.

(17) During the method according to the present invention, the Zigbee device 10 may be configured to broadcast 50 Bluetooth beacon messages containing the Zigbee install code and the EU164 of the Zigbee device 10. It is not necessary that the Zigbee device 10 is configured to receive any Bluetooth messages.

(18) The Bluetooth communication device may transmit 60 the Zigbee install code and the EU164 of the Zigbee device 10 received via the Bluetooth beacon messages to the server 30 via TCP/IP. The Bluetooth communication device 20 may be connected to the server 30 in a wireless manner, in a wired manned, or in a combination thereof.

(19) The Zigbee coordinator device 40 may also be connected to the server 30 in a wireless manner, in a wired manned, or in a combination thereof. The Zigbee coordinator device 40 may communicate 70 with the server via TCP/IP and may receive from the server 30 the Zigbee install code and the EU164 of the Zigbee device 10.

(20) Once the Zigbee coordinator device 40 has received the Zigbee install code and the EU164 of the Zigbee device 10, it may communicate 80 with the Zigbee device 10 in order to join the Zigbee device 10 to the Zigbee network under the control of the coordinator device 40.

(21) Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by the embodiments explained above, it is not limited to these embodiments. Other variations may be derived by the skilled person without leaving the scope of the attached claims.

(22) Generally, “a” or “an” may be understood as singular or plural, in particular with the meaning “at least one”, “one or more”, etc., unless this is explicitly excluded, for example by the term “exactly one”, etc.

(23) In addition, numerical values may include the exact value as well as a usual tolerance interval, unless this is explicitly excluded.

(24) Features shown in the embodiments, in particular in different embodiments, may be combined or substituted without leaving the scope of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(25) 10 Zigbee device 12 Processing means 14 Memory 20 Bluetooth communication device 30 Server 40 Zigbee coordinator device (trust center) 50 Broadcasting of Zigbee install code and EU164 60 Communication between Bluetooth communication device and server 70 Communication between Zigbee coordinator device and server 80 Communication between Zigbee coordinator device and Zigbee device 100-140 Method steps