WO2018157771A1

WO2018157771A1 - Zigbee gateway device, zignee child node and zigbee networking methods

Info

Publication number: WO2018157771A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/077199
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yuhang ZHOU; Xia Wang; Jinxiang Shen
Original assignee: Sengled Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2017-02-28
Filing date: 2018-02-26
Publication date: 2018-09-07
Also published as: CN106792999B; CN106792999A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a Zigbee gateway device, a Zigbee child node and a Zigbee networking method. The networking method includes: obtaining a MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node; encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and sending the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network. The disclosed Zigbee gateway device, Zigbee child node and Zigbee networking methods improve the efficiency of the Zigbee networking while improve success rate of Zigbee network connections.

Description

ZIGBEE GATEWAY DEVICE, ZIGNEE CHILD NODE AND ZIGBEE NETWORKING METHODS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201710114981.6, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of P. R. China on February 28, 2017, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of communication network technology and, more particularly, relates to a Zigbee gateway device, a Zigbee child node, and Zigbee networking methods.

BACKGROUND

Wireless personal area network Zigbee technology is a low cost, low complexity, low power consumption, large network capacity, and reliable wireless communication technology. It complies to the IEEE802.15.4 protocol and new standards developed by Zigbee Alliance for in-home short-range communications.

When Zigbee technology based devices form a network, a Zigbee child node sends self-identification information including media access control (MAC) address and vendor information separately to a Zigbee gateway device. After receiving the identification information sent by the Zigbee child node, the Zigbee gateway device determines whether to allow the Zigbee child node to join a Zigbee network or access the Zigbee network. Then, the Zigbee gateway device receives the identification information sent by another Zigbee child node.

In the above networking method, because the MAC address and vendor information are sent separately to the Zigbee gateway device, it is possible that the Zigbee gateway device may make incorrect determinations (i.e., the MAC address and the vendor information sent by a same Zigbee child node are not associated with each other) , and the Zigbee child node may fail to access the network. Moreover, the Zigbee gateway device processes the information sent by the Zigbee child nodes one by one. When there are many child nodes, the Zigbee gateway may not receive the information sent by certain Zigbee child nodes due to network congestion or gateway processing overloading, etc., thereby resulting in the failure to access the network by these certain Zigbee child nodes.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure provides a Zigbee gateway device, a Zigbee child node, and a Zigbee networking method to overcome the technical problems that the networking devices and method in the existing technology are likely to cause Zigbee child nodes to fail to access Zigbee network.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a Zigbee gateway device, comprising a receiver, a buffer memory, and a processor; the buffer memory is connected to the receiver and the processor, respectively; A Zigbee gateway device, comprising: a receiver; a buffer memory; and a processor. The buffer memory is connected to the receiver and the processor; the receiver receives identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, sends the identification information to the buffer memory, the identification information being the information obtained by encoding and combining MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node; the buffer memory stores the identification information, and sends the identification information stored in a time interval to the processor at the time interval; and based on the identification information stored in the time interval, the processor determines a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.

Further, the processor may include a decoder and a controller that are connected in series; the decoder decodes the buffered identification information to obtain a first character string and a second character string, the first character string denoting the MAC address, and the second character string denoting the vendor information; and the controller determines whether the vendor information is target vendor information, and when the vendor information is the target vendor information, identifies the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the MAC address as a second Zigbee child node, wherein the target vendor information corresponds to a vendor of a Zigbee device that is allowed to access the Zigbee network.

The Zigbee gateway device may further include a transmitter that is connected to the processor. Based on the identification information stored in the time interval, the processor determines the first Zigbee child node is not allowed to access the Zigbee network and identifies the first Zigbee child node as a third Zigbee child node; and the transmitter sends an access failure message to the third Zigbee child node indicating failure to access the Zigbee network.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a Zigbee child node, comprising: a processor; and a transmitter. The processor includes a controller and an encoder that are connected in series; the encoder is also connected to the transmitter; the controller obtains an MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node; the encoder encodes and combines the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and the transmitter sends the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network.

Further, the controller may convert the MAC address to a first character string and the vendor information to a second character string and calculates a total number of characters M of the first character string and a total number of characters N of the second character string; and based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, the encoder encodes the character string and the second character string to obtain identification information.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a Zigbee networking system, comprising: a Zigbee gateway device a plurality of Zigbee child nodes. The Zigbee gateway device comprises a receiver; a buffer memory; and a processor. The buffer memory is connected to the receiver and the processor; the receiver receives identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, sends the identification information to the buffer memory, the identification information being the information obtained by encoding and combining MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node; the buffer memory stores the identification information, and sends the identification information stored in a time interval to the processor at the time interval; and based on the identification information stored in the time interval, the processor determines a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.

Each of the plurality of Zigbee child nodes may comprise a processor; and a transmitter. The processor includes a controller and a encoder that are connected in series; the encoder is also connected to the transmitter; the controller obtains an MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node; the encoder encodes and combines the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and the transmitter sends the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a networking method applicable to a Zigbee gateway device, comprising: receiving identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, and storing the identification information in a buffer memory, wherein the identification information is the information obtained by encoding and combining an MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node, and the first Zigbee child node is a Zigbee device pending permission to access Zigbee network; and obtaining the buffered identification information from the buffer memory at a time interval, and based on the identification information stored in the time interval, determining a plurality of second first Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.

The method may further include decoding the buffered identification information to obtain a first character string and a second character string, wherein the first character string denotes the MAC address and the second character string denotes the vendor information; and determining whether the vendor information is target vendor information, and when the vendor information is the target vendor information, identifying the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the MAC address as a second Zigbee child node, wherein the target vendor information is the vendor information corresponding to a Zigbee device that is allowed to access the Zigbee network.

The method may further include based on the identification information stored in the time interval, determining a plurality of third Zigbee child nodes that are denied access to the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes; and sending an access failure message to the third Zigbee child node to inform the third Zigbee child node of failing to access the Zigbee network.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a networking method applicable to a Zigbee child node, comprising: obtaining a MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node; encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and sending the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node can access Zigbee network.

The method may further include converting the MAC address to a first character string and vendor information to a second character string; calculating a total number of characters M of the first character string and a total number of characters N of the second character string; and based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, encoding the first character string and the second character string to present the identification information.

The method may further include based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, encoding the first character string and the second character string to obtain a third character string; obtaining a fourth character string by combining digit characters corresponding to total number of characters N and a first character, wherein the digit characters precedes the first character; and combining the fourth character string and the third character string to obtain a fifth character string, and identifying the fifth character string as the identification information.

The method may further include based on character sequence of the first character string and character sequence of the second character string, arranging the characters of the first character string and the characters of the second character string; when M > N, based on the character sequence of the first character string, arranging the remaining characters of the first character string to be a (2N+1) th character through the (N+M) th character; and when M < N, based on the character sequence of the second character string, arranging a second character and the remaining characters of the second character string until all the remaining characters of the second character string are arranged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To more clearly illustrate the technical solution in the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the disclosed embodiments are briefly described hereinafter. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure. Other drawings may be derived from such drawings by a person with ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary Zigbee child node according to disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of obtaining MAC address and vendor information by an exemplary Zigbee child node according to disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates another schematic diagram of obtaining MAC address and vendor information by an exemplary Zigbee child node according to disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary Zigbee gateway device according to disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary Zigbee network system according to disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary Zigbee networking method according to disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of another exemplary Zigbee networking method according to disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of another exemplary Zigbee networking method according to disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To meet the foregoing objectives and make features and advantages of the present disclosure clearer and more understandable, the present disclosure will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, exemplary embodiments may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to fully convey the thorough and complete concepts of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary Zigbee child node according to disclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1, the Zigbee child node may include a processor 11 and a transmitter 12. The processor 11 may include a controller 111 and an encoder 112 that are connected in series. The encoder 112 may also be connected to the transmitter 12. The controller 111 may obtain MAC address and vendor information from the Zigbee child node. The encoder 112 may encode the MAC address and vendor information to obtain identification information. The transmitter 12 may transmit the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node can access Zigbee network.

Specifically, a Zigbee child node may be a Zigbee device. The Zigbee child node may include a router and a terminal equipment. In one embodiment, the Zigbee child node may be a node pending permission to access the Zigbee network.

In one embodiment, the Zigbee child node may include a processor 11 and a transmitter 12. The processor 11 may include a controller 111 and an encoder 112 that are connected in series. The encoder 112 may also be connected to the transmitter 12.

The controller 111 may obtain the MAC address and the vendor information from the Zigbee child node.

The MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node may be obtained in the following way. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of obtaining MAC address and vendor information by an exemplary Zigbee child node according to disclosed embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates another schematic diagram of obtaining MAC address and vendor information by an exemplary Zigbee child node according to disclosed embodiments.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an accessory device 31 may scan the QR code on a Zigbee child node 32. After the accessory device 31 obtains the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node, the accessory device 31 may send the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node 32 to the Zigbee child node 32, and the controller 111 of the Zigbee child node 32 may receive the MAC address and the vendor information. Thus, the controller 111 may obtain the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node 32.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a user may manually enter the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node 32 through a user interface of the Zigbee child node 32. After clicking a confirm button by the user, the processor 11 of the Zigbee child node 32 may obtain the user entered instruction. Based on the user entered instruction, the processor 11 may send the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node 32 to the controller 111. Thus, the controller 111 may obtain the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node 32.

Moreover, the controller 111 may obtain the MAC address and the vendor information in various other methods, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The controller 111 may also convert the MAC address to a first character string and the vendor information to a second character string and may obtain a total number of characters M of the first character string and a total number of the characters N of the second character string.

The encoder 112 may encode and combine the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information. In one embodiment, the encoder 112 may encode and combine the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain a message. The message may be the identification information of the Zigbee child node. In another embodiment, the encoder 112 may encode and combine the MAC address and the vendor information by using various different methods, as long as the MAC address and the vendor information are combined into one message.

The desired method of combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain a message are described in detail below.

Based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, the encoder 112 may encode the first character string and the second character string to obtain the identification information. Specifically, based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, the encoder 112 may encode the first character string and the second character string to obtain a third character string. The digit characters corresponding to the total number of characters N and a first pre-configured character may be combined to obtain a fourth character string, where the digit characters may precede the first pre-configured character. The fourth character string and the third character string may be combined to obtain a fifth character string. The fifth character string may be considered as the identification information. The fourth character string may precede the third character string to form a fifth character string. Except for the first pre-configured character, other digit characters in the fourth character string may denote a total number of characters of the vendor information. When being decoded, the encoding rule and the digit characters may be used to decode the vendor information, and then the MAC address.

In one embodiment, the method of encoding the first character string and the second character string based on the total number characters M and the total number of characters N to obtain the third character string may include the following steps.

Based on character sequence of the first character string and character sequence of the second character string, the characters of the first character string and the characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately.

When M > N, based on the character sequence of the first character string, the remaining characters of the first character string may be arranged as the (2N+1) th character through the (N+M) th character in the third character string.

When M < N, based on the character sequence of the second character string, a second pre-configured character and the remaining characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately until all the remaining characters of the second character string are arranged.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that, based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, encoding the first character string and the second character string to obtain the third character string may be implemented in various ways, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

In the following, specific examples are used to illustrate the encoding procedure of the desired method for the processor to encode and combine the MAC address and the vendor information into one message.

In one embodiment, the MAC address of a Zigbee child node may be converted to a first character string “0123456789ABCDEF” , and the vendor information may be converted to a second string “Sengled” . The total number of characters M of the first character string may be 16, and the total number of characters N of the second character string may be 7. Thus, M > N. Based on the character sequence of the first character string and the character sequence of the second character string, the preceding 7 characters of the first character string and the preceding 7 characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately to obtain the preceding 14 characters of the third character string. Then, based on the character sequence of the first character string, the remaining characters of the first character string may become the 15th character through 23rd character of the third character string. The complete third character string may be “0S1e2n3g4l5e6d789ABCDEF” .

The fourth character string may be obtained as follows. The digit character “7” corresponding to the total number of characters N and the first pre-configured character “0” may be combined to obtain a fourth character string. The digit character “7” may precede the first pre-configured character “0. The complete fourth character string may be “70” . The first pre-configured character may be various other characters, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The fourth character string and the third character string may be combined to obtain a fifth character string. The fifth character string may be considered as the identification information. The fourth character string may precede the third character string to form the fifth character string. The complete identification information may be “700S1e2n3g4l5e6d789ABCDEF” .

In another embodiment, the MAC address of a Zigbee child node may be converted to a first character string “0123456789ABCDEF” , and the vendor information may be converted to a second character string “SengledSHANGHAIBJ” . The total number of characters M of the first character string may be 16, and the total number of characters N of the second character string may be 17. Thus, M < N. Based on the character sequence of the first character string and the character sequence of the second character string, the preceding 16 characters of the first character string and the preceding 16 characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately to obtain the preceding 32 characters of the third character string. Then, based on the character sequence of the second character string, the second pre-configured character “0” and the remaining characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately until all the remaining characters of the second character string are arranged. The complete third character string may be “0S1e2n3g4l5e6d7S8H9AANBGCHDAEIFB0J” . The second pre-configured character may be various other characters, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The fourth character string may be obtained as follows. The digit character “17” corresponding to the total number of characters N and the first pre-configured character “0” may be combined to obtain a fourth character string. The digit character “17” may precede the first pre-configured character “0. The complete fourth character string may be “170” . The first pre-configured character may be various other characters, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The fourth character string and the third character string may be combined to obtain a fifth character string. The fifth character string may be considered as the identification information. The fourth character string may precede the third character string. The complete identification information may be “1700S1e2n3g4l5e6d7S8H9AANBGCHDAEIFB0J” .

The MAC address and the vendor information may be encoded and combined to obtain one message of the identification information. Thus, the failure rate that the MAC address and the vendor information sent by a same Zigbee child node may be determined by the Zigbee gateway device as being sent by different Zigbee child nodes, thereby failing to access the Zigbee network may be substantially reduced, and the success rate that the Zigbee child node may access the Zigbee network may be improved.

After the encoder 112 encodes and combines the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain the identification information, the transmitter 12 may send the identification information to the Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network. The method that the Zigbee gateway device determines whether the Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network may be described in the exemplary embodiment for the method that the Zigbee gateway device determines whether the Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network, which is not limited by the present disclosure.

In present disclosure, the Zigbee child node may include a processor and a transmitter. The processor may include a controller and an encoder. The encoder may be connected to the transmitter. The controller may obtain the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node. The encoder may encode and combine the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain the identification information. The transmitter may send the identification information to the Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network. The Zigbee child node according to the present disclosure may improve the success rate for a Zigbee child node to access the Zigbee network.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary Zigbee gateway device according to disclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 4, the Zigbee gateway device may include a receiver 21, a buffer memory 22, and a processor 23. The buffer memory 22 may be connected to the receiver 21 and the processor 23, respectively.

The receiver 21 may receive the identification information sent by a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes and may transfer the identification information to the buffer memory 22. The identification information may be obtained by encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information of the plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.

The buffer memory 22 may store the identification information and may transfer the identification information stored in a pre-configured time interval to the processor 23 at the pre-configured time interval.

Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, the processor 23 may determine whether a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that can access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.

Specifically, the Zigbee gateway device may be a Zigbee device. The Zigbee gateway device may also be called Zigbee coordinator serving as a data convergence node.

In one embodiment, the Zigbee gateway device may include the receiver 21, the buffer memory 22, and the processor 23. The buffer memory 22 may be connected to the receiver 21 and the processor 23, respectively. The plurality of first Zigbee child nodes may be Zigbee child nodes in the disclosed embodiments. The plurality of first Zigbee child nodes may be Zigbee devices pending for permission to access the Zigbee network.

The receiver 21 may receive the identification information sent by the plurality of first Zigbee child nodes and may transfer the identification information to the buffer memory 22. The identification information may be obtained by encoding and combing the MAC address and the vendor information of the first Zigbee child node. The identification information of the first Zigbee child node received by the receiver 21 may be obtained by applying the encoding and combing method in the disclosed embodiment, which will not be repeated.

The buffer memory 22 may store the identification information and may transfer the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval to the processor 23 at the pre-configured time interval. After the receiver 21 of the Zigbee gateway device receives the identification information sent by the first Zigbee child node, the receiver 21 may not transfer the identification information to the processor 23 of the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the first Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network, but rather may store the identification information in the buffer memory 22 set forth on the Zigbee gateway device. At the pre-configured time interval, the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval may be transferred to the processor 23. For example, the pre-configured time interval may be 3s. The identification information stored between a first time and a second time may be transferred to the processor 23. Then, the identification information stored between the second time and a third time may be transferred to the processor 23. The time interval between the first time and the second time may be 3s. The time interval between the second time and the third time may be 3s. So on and so forth.

When the number of Zigbee child node is substantially large, the buffer memory 22 may be configured to substantially reduce the failure rate that the Zigbee gateway device fails to receive the identification information of certain Zigbee child nodes due to network congestion and slow gateway processing, etc.

The processor 23 may receive the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval sent by the buffer memory 22. Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes may be determined. The specific procedure that the processor 23 may process the identification information of the first Zigbee child node may be described below to illustrate the operating principle of the processor 23. Here, the identification information of the first Zigbee child node may be referred as a first buffered identification information.

The processor 23 may include a decoder 231 and a controller 232 that are connected in series. The decoder 231 may decode the first buffered identification information to obtain a first character string and a second character string. The first character string may denote a first MAC address, and the second character string may denote a first vendor information. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the decoding method of the processor 23 of the Zigbee gateway device may correspond to the encoding method of the processor of the first Zigbee child node.

The decoder 231 may decode the first buffered identification information to obtain the first character string and the second character string. The first character string may denote the first MAC address, and the second character string may denote the first vendor information. Specifically, the decoder 231 may decode the first buffered identification information to obtain a fourth character string and a third character string. Based on the fourth character string, a total number of characters of the first vendor information may be determined. Based on the total number of characters of the first vendor information, the second character string may be obtained from the third character string, and second pre-configured characters may be removed from the remaining characters of the third character string to obtain the first character string. The first character string may denote the first MAC address, and the second character string may denote the first vendor information.

More specifically, when the processor 23 of the Zigbee gateway device decodes the first buffered identification information to obtain the fourth character string and the third character string, the specific procedure to obtain the fourth character string may include the following. Based on the pre-configured first pre-configured character, a first pre-configured character position may be determined. When the pre-configured character is “0” , the first appearance of “0” in the first buffered identification information may be determined to be a first pre-configured character. The character string combining the first pre-configured character and the digit characters preceding the first pre-configured character may become the fourth character string. After the characters corresponding to the fourth character string are removed from the first buffered identification information, the remaining characters may become the third character string. After the first pre-configured character is removed from the fourth character string, the remaining digit characters may be the total number of characters of the first vendor information. Based on the total number of characters of the first vendor information and the encoding rule, the second character string may be obtained from the third character string. After the second pre-configured characters are removed from the remaining characters of the third character string (the remaining third character string after the characters corresponding to the second character string are removed) , the first character string may be obtained. When the second pre-configured character is “0” , the first appearance of “0” in the remaining third character string after the characters corresponding to the second character string are removed may not be removed, because the first digit of the MAC address is always “0” .

The controller 232 may determine whether the first vendor information is target vendor information. When the first vendor information is the target vendor information, the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the first MAC address may be considered as a second Zigbee child node. The target vendor information may be the vendor information corresponding to a Zigbee device that is allowed to access the Zigbee network. The target vendor information may include at least one vendor and may be stored in the processor 23 of the Zigbee gateway device in the form of a table. Then, the processor 23 may determine whether the target vendor information table includes the first vendor information. When the target vendor information table includes the first vendor information, the first Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network, and the first Zigbee child node may be considered as a second Zigbee child node.

Further, the Zigbee gateway device may include a transmitter 24. The transmitter 24 may be connected to the processor 23. The processor 23 may determine a plurality of third Zigbee child nodes that are not allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes. The transmitter 24 may send access failure messages to the plurality of third Zigbee child nodes. The access failure message may inform the plurality of third Zigbee child nodes of failing to access the Zigbee network.

In other words, when a first Zigbee child node is allowed to access the Zigbee network, the Zigbee gateway device may not send any message to the first Zigbee child node. When a first Zigbee child node does not receive any message in a pre-configured time, the first Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network and may transmit information through the Zigbee network. When a first Zigbee child node is not allowed to access the Zigbee network, the Zigbee gateway device may send an access failure message to the first Zigbee child node to inform the first Zigbee child node (also known as the third Zigbee child node) of failing to access the Zigbee network.

The processor may obtain buffered identification information from the buffer memory at the pre-configured time interval. Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, the processor may determine a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes, quickly sort out the plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network and improve the efficiency of Zigbee networking.

The Zigbee gateway device may include the receiver, the buffer memory, and the processor. The buffer memory may be connected to receiver and the processor, respectively. The receiver may receive the identification information sent by the plurality of first Zigbee child nodes, and may transfer the identification information to the buffer memory. The identification information may be obtained by encoding and combing the MAC address and the vendor information of the first Zigbee child nodes. The buffer memory may store the identification information, and may transfer the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval to the processor at the pre-configured time interval. Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, the processor may determine a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes. The Zigbee gateway device may improve the success rate that Zigbee child nodes may access the Zigbee network, and may improve the efficiency of the Zigbee networking.

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary Zigbee network system according to disclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5, the Zigbee network may include a Zigbee gateway device 51 and a plurality of Zigbee child nodes 52.

The Zigbee network system comprising the Zigbee gateway device 51 and the plurality of Zigbee child nodes 52 disclosed in various embodiments may improve the success rate that the Zigbee child nodes accesses the Zigbee network and may improve the efficiency of the Zigbee networking.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary Zigbee networking method according to disclosed embodiments. The method may be applicable to the Zigbee child nodes. As shown in FIG. 6, the method may include the following steps.

Step S101: obtaining MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node.

Step S102: encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information.

Step S103: sending the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network.

Specifically, the method may be implemented by the Zigbee device shown in FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, the step S101 may be implemented by the controller of the Zigbee device shown in FIG. 1. The method for obtaining the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node may be either of the methods based on FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. The specific obtaining method may refer to the method described in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 1, which is not repeated herein.

The step S102 may be implemented by the processor 11 shown in FIG. 1. The MAC address and the vendor information may be encoded and combined to obtain a message. The message may correspond to the identification information of the Zigbee child node. The method for encoding and combing the MAC address and the vendor information may be implemented in various ways as long as the MAC address and the vendor information are encoded and combined to one single message.

After the MAC address and the vendor information are encoded and combined to obtain one single message corresponding to the identification information of the Zigbee child node, the identification information may be sent to the Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access the Zigbee network.

The Zigbee networking method may include: obtaining the MAC address and the vendor information of the Zigbee child node; encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain the identification information; and sending the identification information to the Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access the Zigbee network. In the Zigbee networking method, the MAC address and the vendor information may be encoded and combined to obtain one single message. Thus, the failure rate that the Zigbee gateway device may mistakenly determine that the MAC address and the vendor information sent by a same Zigbee child node may be sent by two different Zigbee child nodes and the Zigbee child node may be denied access to the Zigbee network may be substantially reduced, and the success rate that the Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network may be improved.

Various embodiments may be described below to illustrate the Zigbee networking method.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of another exemplary Zigbee networking method according to disclosed embodiments. The method may be applicable to the Zigbee child nodes. The method may provide more detail description for the step of encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain the identification information. As shown in FIG. 7, the method may include the following steps.

Step S201: converting MAC address to a first character string and vendor information to a second character string and obtaining a total number of characters M of the first character string and a total number of characters N of the second character string.

Step S202: based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, encoding the first character string and the second character string to obtain identification information.

Specifically, under normal circumstance, the MAC address of the Zigbee child node may not be in the form of a pure character string. Instead, colons may appear between characters. Thus, the MAC address of the Zigbee child node may have to be converted to a character string, also known as a first character string. After the first character string is obtained, the total number of characters M of the first character string and the total number of characters N of the second character string N corresponding to the vendor information may be calculated.

The method that the first character string and the second character string may be encoded to obtain the identification information based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N may specifically include the following steps.

Based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, the first character string and the second character string may be encoded to obtain a third character string. The digit characters corresponding to the total number of characters N and a first pre-configured character may be combined to obtain a fourth character string. The digit characters may precede the first pre-configured character. The fourth character string and the third character string may be combined to obtain a fifth character string. The fifth character string may be considered as the identification information. The fourth character string may precede the third character string. Except for the first pre-configured, the other digit characters in the fourth character string may denote the total number of characters of the vendor information. When being decoded, the vendor information may be decoded based on the encoding rule and the digit characters, and then the MAC address may be decoded.

The method for encoding the first character string and the second character string based on the total number of characters M and the total number of character N to obtain the third character string may specifically include the following steps.

Based on the character sequence of the first character string and the character sequence of the second character string, the characters of the first character string and the characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately.

When M > N, based on the character sequence of the first character string, the remaining characters of the first character string may become the (2N+1) th character through the (N+M) th character of the third character string.

Encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain the identification information may be illustrated specifically in the following embodiments.

In one embodiment, when the MAC address of a Zigbee child node is converted to a first character string “0123456789ABCDEF” , and the vendor information is converted to a second character string “Sengled” , the total number characters M of the first character string may be calculated to be 16, and the total number of characters N of the second character string may be calculated to be 7. Thus, M > N. Based on the character sequence of the first character string and the character sequence of the second character string, the preceding 7 characters of the first character string and the preceding 7 characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately to obtain the preceding 14 characters of the third character string. Then, based on the character sequence of the first character string, the remaining characters of the first character string may become the 15th character through the 23rd character of the third character string. The complete third character string may be “0S1e2n3g4l5e6d789ABCDEF” .

The fourth character string maybe obtained as follows. The digit character “7” corresponding to the total number of characters N and the first pre-configured character “0” may be combined to obtain a fourth character string. The digit character “7” may precede the first pre-configured character “0” . The complete fourth character string may be “70” . The first pre-configured character may be various other characters, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The fourth character string and the third character string may be combined to obtain a fifth character string. The fifth character string may be considered as the identification information. The fourth character string may precede the third character string. The complete fifth character string may be “700S1e2n3g4l5e6d789ABCDEF” .

In another embodiment, when the MAC address of a Zigbee child node is converted to a first character string “0123456789ABCDEF” , and the vendor information is converted to a second character string “SengledSHANGHAIBJ” , the total number characters M of the first character string may be calculated to be 16, and the total number of characters N of the second character string may be calculated to be 17. Thus, M < N. Based on the character sequence of the first character string and the character sequence of the second character string, the preceding 16 characters of the first character string and the preceding 16 characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately to obtain the preceding 32 characters of the third character string. Then, based on the character sequence of the second character string, the second pre-configured character “0” and the remaining characters of the second character string may be arranged alternately until all the remaining characters of the second character string are arranged. The complete third character string may be “0S1e2n3g4l5e6d7S8H9AANBGCHDAEIFB0J” . The second pre-configured character may be various other characters, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The fourth character string may be obtained as follows. The digit characters “17” corresponding to the total number of characters N and the first pre-configured character “0” may be combined to obtain a fourth character string. The digit characters “17” may precede the first pre-configured character “0” . The complete fourth character string may be “170” . The first pre-configured character may be various other characters, which are not limited by the present disclosure.

The fourth character string and the third character string may be combined to obtain a fifth character string. The fifth character string may be considered as the identification information. The fourth character string may precede the third character string. The complete fifth character string may be “1700S1e2n3g4l5e6d7S8H9AANBGCHDAEIFB0J” .

In the embodiment, the characters corresponding to the MAC address and the characters corresponding to the vendor information may be arranged alternately to encode and combine the MAC address and the vendor information.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of another exemplary Zigbee networking method according to disclosed embodiments. The method may be applicable to the Zigbee gateway device. As shown in FIG. 8, the method may include the following steps.

Step S301: receiving identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, and transferring the identification information to a buffer memory, where the identification information is obtained by encoding and combining MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node and the first Zigbee child node is a Zigbee device pending permission to access Zigbee network.

Step S302: obtaining the buffered identification information from the buffer memory at a pre-configured time interval, and determining a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval.

In one embodiment, specifically, the method may be implemented by the Zigbee gateway device shown in FIG. 4, and the first Zigbee child node may be the Zigbee child node shown in FIG. 1.

The identification information received by the Zigbee gateway device in the step S301 may be the identification information obtained by implementing the encoding and combining methods shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, which are not repeated herein. The steps may be implemented by the receiver of the Zigbee gateway device shown in FIG. 4. Receiving the identification information sent by the first Zigbee child node and obtained by encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information of the first Zigbee child node may improve the success rate that the first Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network.

After the Zigbee gateway device receives the identification information sent by the first Zigbee child node, the Zigbee gateway device may not directly determine whether the first Zigbee child node is allowed to access the Zigbee network, but rather may transfer the identification information to the buffer memory set forth on the Zigbee gateway device. The identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval may be sent to the processor of the Zigbee gateway device at the pre-configured time interval. For example, the pre-configured time interval may be 3s. The identification information stored between a first time and a second time may be sent to the processor 23. Then, the identification information stored between the second time and a third time may be sent to the processor 23. The time interval between the first time and the second time may be 3s. The time interval between the second time and the third time may be 3s. So on and so forth.

After the processor of the Zigbee gateway device receives the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, based on identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, the processor may determine a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes. The method may include the following steps.

The first buffered identification information may be decoded to obtain a first character string and a second character string. The first character string may denote a fist MAC address, and the second character string may denote a first vendor information. The first buffer identification information may be any identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the decoding method may have to correspond to the encoding method in the disclosed embodiments.

Specifically, the first buffered identification information may be decoded to obtain the first character string and the second character string. The first character string may denote the first MAC address, and the second character string may denote the first vendor information. Specifically, the first buffered identification information may be decoded to obtain a fourth character string and a third character string. Based on the fourth character string, a total number of characters of the first vendor information may be determined. Based on the total number of characters of the first vendor information, a second character string may be obtained from the third character string. The second pre-configured characters in the remaining characters of the third character string may be removed to obtain a first character string. The first character string may denote the first MAC address. The second character string may denote the first vendor information.

More specifically, when the first buffered identification information is decoded, based on the first buffered identification information, the fourth character string and the third character string may be obtained. The specific procedure for obtaining the fourth character string may include the following steps. Based on the pre-configured first pre-configured character, a position of the first pre-configured character may be determined. When the first pre-configured character is “0” , the first appearance of character “0” in the first buffered identification information may be considered as the first pre-configured character. The first pre-configured character and the preceding digit characters may become the fourth character string. After the characters corresponding to the fourth character string are removed from the first buffered identification information, the remaining characters may become the third character string. After the first pre-configured character is removed from the fourth character string, the remaining digit characters may be the total number of characters of the first vendor information. Based on the total number of characters of the first vendor information and the encoding rule, the second character string may be obtained from the third character string. After the second pre-configured characters are removed from the remaining characters of the third character string (after the characters corresponding to the second character string are removed from the third character string) , the first character string may be obtained. When the second pre-configured character is “0” , the first appearance of character “0” in the remaining characters after the characters corresponding to the second character string are removed from the third character string may not be removed, because the first digit of the MAC address is always 0.

Whether the first vendor information is target vendor information may be determined. When the first vendor information is the target vendor information, the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the first MAC address may become a second Zigbee child node. The target vendor information may be the vendor information corresponding to a Zigbee device that is allowed to access the Zigbee network. The target vendor information may include at least one vendor. The target vendor information may be stored on the Zigbee gateway device in the form of a table. Then, whether the target vendor information table includes the first vendor information obtained by decoding the identification information and sent by the first Zigbee child node may be determined. When the target vendor information table includes the first vendor information, the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the first MAC address may be allowed to access the Zigbee network, and the first Zigbee child node may become a second Zigbee child node.

Similarly, when the target vendor information table does not include the first vendor information, the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the first MAC address may be denied access to the Zigbee network, and the first Zigbee child node may become a third Zigbee child node.

After the third Zigbee child node is determined, an access failure message may be sent to third Zigbee child node. The access failure message may denote that the third Zigbee child node fails to access the Zigbee network.

In other words, when the first Zigbee child node is allowed to access the Zigbee network, the Zigbee gateway device may not send any message to the first Zigbee child node. When the first Zigbee child node does not receive any message in the pre-configured time interval, the first Zigbee child node may be allowed to access the Zigbee network, and the first Zigbee child node may transmit information through the Zigbee network. When the first Zigbee child node is not allowed to access the Zigbee network, the Zigbee gateway device may send the access failure message to the first Zigbee child node to inform the first Zigbee child node (also known as the third Zigbee child node) of failing to access the Zigbee network.

Each of the buffered identification information during the pre-configured time interval may be processed in the same way according to the disclosed embodiments.

When the number of the child nodes is substantially large, the buffered identification information may be obtained from the buffer memory at the pre-configured time interval. Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes may be determined. Thus, the plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network may be quickly sorted out, and the efficiency of the Zigbee networking may be improved.

The Zigbee networking method may include the following steps. The identification information sent by the first Zigbee child node may be received. The received identification information may be stored in the buffer memory. The identification information may be obtained by encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information of the first Zigbee child node. The first Zigbee child node may be a Zigbee device pending permission to access the Zigbee network. The buffered identification information may be obtained from the buffer memory at the pre-configured time interval. Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, whether the first Zigbee child node may become a second Zigbee child node that is allowed to access the Zigbee network may be determined. In the Zigbee networking method according to the present disclosure, the identification information obtained by encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information and sent by the first Zigbee child node may be received. The buffered identification information may be obtained from the buffer memory at the pre-configured time interval. Based on the identification information stored in the pre-configured time interval, whether the first Zigbee child node may become a second Zigbee child node that is allowed to access the Zigbee network may be determined. Thus, the efficiency of the Zigbee networking may be improved while the success rate that the Zigbee child node may access the Zigbee network may be improved.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the entire or partial steps of the Zigbee networking methods according to the disclosed embodiments may be implemented by programming instruction related hardware. The program may be stored in computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, the steps of the disclosed embodiments may be executed. The storage medium may include ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, or other suitable medium that stores programming instructions.

Various embodiments have been described to illustrate the operation principles and exemplary implementations. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein and that various other obvious changes, rearrangements, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, while the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the above described embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above described embodiments, but may be embodied in other equivalent forms without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, which is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

A Zigbee gateway device, comprising:

a receiver;

a buffer memory; and

a processor,

wherein:

the buffer memory is connected to the receiver and the processor;

the receiver receives identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, sends the identification information to the buffer memory, the identification information being the information obtained by encoding and combining MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node;

the buffer memory stores the identification information, and sends the identification information stored in a time interval to the processor at the time interval; and

based on the identification information stored in the time interval, the processor determines a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.
The Zigbee gateway device according to claim 1, wherein:

the processor includes a decoder and a controller that are connected in series;

the decoder decodes the buffered identification information to obtain a first character string and a second character string, the first character string denoting the MAC address, and the second character string denoting the vendor information; and

the controller determines whether the vendor information is target vendor information, and when the vendor information is the target vendor information, identifies the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the MAC address as a second Zigbee child node, wherein the target vendor information corresponds to a vendor of a Zigbee device that is allowed to access the Zigbee network.
The Zigbee gateway device according to claim 2, further including a transmitter that is connected to the processor, wherein:

based on the identification information stored in the time interval, the processor determines the first Zigbee child node is not allowed to access the Zigbee network and identifies the first Zigbee child node as a third Zigbee child node; and

the transmitter sends an access failure message to the third Zigbee child node indicating failure to access the Zigbee network.
A Zigbee child node, comprising:

a processor; and

a transmitter,

wherein:

the processor includes a controller and an encoder that are connected in series;

the encoder is also connected to the transmitter;

the controller obtains an MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node;

the encoder encodes and combines the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and

the transmitter sends the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network.
The Zigbee child node according to claim 4, wherein:

the controller converts the MAC address to a first character string and the vendor information to a second character string, and calculates a total number of characters M of the first character string and a total number of characters N of the second character string; and

based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, the encoder encodes the character string and the second character string to obtain identification information.
A Zigbee networking system, comprising:

a Zigbee gateway device comprising:

a receiver;

a buffer memory; and

a processor,

wherein:

the buffer memory is connected to the receiver and the processor, respectively;

the receiver receives identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, sends the identification information to the buffer memory, the identification information being the information obtained by encoding and combining MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node;

the buffer memory stores the identification information, and sends the identification information stored in a time interval to the processor at the time interval; and

based on the identification information stored in the time interval, the processor determines a plurality of second Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes; and

a plurality of Zigbee child nodes, each comprising:

a processor; and

a transmitter,

wherein:

the processor includes a controller and an encoder that are connected in series;

the encoder is also connected to the transmitter;

the controller obtains an MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node;

the encoder encodes and combines the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and

the transmitter sends the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network.
A networking method applicable to a Zigbee gateway device, comprising:

receiving identification information sent by a first Zigbee child node, and storing the identification information in a buffer memory, wherein the identification information is the information obtained by encoding and combining an MAC address and vendor information of the first Zigbee child node, and the first Zigbee child node is a Zigbee device pending permission to access Zigbee network; and

obtaining the buffered identification information from the buffer memory at a time interval, and based on the identification information stored in the time interval, determining a plurality of second first Zigbee child nodes that are allowed to access the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes.
The method according to claim 7, further includes:

decoding the buffered identification information to obtain a first character string and a second character string, wherein the first character string denotes the MAC address and the second character string denotes the vendor information; and

determining whether the vendor information is target vendor information, and when the vendor information is the target vendor information, identifying the first Zigbee child node corresponding to the MAC address as a second Zigbee child node, wherein the target vendor information is the vendor information corresponding to a Zigbee device that is allowed to access the Zigbee network.
The method according to claim 8, further including:

based on the identification information stored in the time interval, determining a plurality of third Zigbee child nodes that are denied access to the Zigbee network out of a plurality of first Zigbee child nodes; and

sending an access failure message to the third Zigbee child node to inform the third Zigbee child node of failing to access the Zigbee network.
A networking method applicable to a Zigbee child node, comprising:

obtaining a MAC address and vendor information of a Zigbee child node;

encoding and combining the MAC address and the vendor information to obtain identification information; and

sending the identification information to a Zigbee gateway device for the Zigbee gateway device to determine whether the Zigbee child node is allowed to access Zigbee network.
The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

converting the MAC address to a first character string and vendor information to a second character string;

calculating a total number of characters M of the first character string and a total number of characters N of the second character string; and

based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, encoding the first character string and the second character string to present the identification information.
The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

based on the total number of characters M and the total number of characters N, encoding the first character string and the second character string to obtain a third character string;

obtaining a fourth character string by combining digit characters corresponding to total number of characters N and a first character, wherein the digit characters precedes the first character; and

combining the fourth character string and the third character string to obtain a fifth character string, and identifying the fifth character string as the identification information.
The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

based on character sequence of the first character string and character sequence of the second character string, arranging the characters of the first character string and the characters of the second character string;

when M > N, based on the character sequence of the first character string, arranging the remaining characters of the first character string to be a (2N+1) th character through the (N+M) th character; and

when M < N, based on the character sequence of the second character string, arranging a second character and the remaining characters of the second character string until all the remaining characters of the second character string are arranged.