# US 10,484,477 B2 · Internet of things (IoT) device activation and management

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- Number: US 10,484,477 B2
- Document ID: US10484477B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/983,717
- Filed: 2015-12-30
- Published: 2017-07-06
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-12-30
- Assignees: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
- Applicants: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
- Inventors: Azim Nasir; Andre R. Turner; Daniel J. McKenna
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10484477B2

## CPC

- H04L 67/125: involving control of end-device applications over a network
- H04L 67/10: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46)
- H04L 67/34: {involving the movement of software or configuration parameters (network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416)}
- H04L 67/75: Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
- H04W 4/80: Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

A user device, such as a smart phone, collects information about an Internet-of-things (IoT) device. The information may be obtained through a local wireless connection between the user device and the IoT device. The user device forwards, to an application server, a request to activate the IoT device over a service network, such as a wireless data network, and receives information for activating the IoT device. The user device uses the received information to activate the IoT device and collects data from the activated IoT devices. The user device may selectively report portions of the collected data to the application server, and may receive instruction updates. The user device may update the operation of the IoT device based on the received instruction updates.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method comprising:
identifying, by a processor associated with a user device, an attribute of an Internet-of-things (IoT) device;
forwarding, by the processor, the attribute to a cloud storage, wherein the cloud storage stores data identifying IoT devices associated with the user device and data associated with IoT devices associated with other user devices, and wherein the cloud storage identifies an application server, from a plurality of application servers, that manages similar IoT devices for the other user devices, wherein the similar IoT devices include IoT devices with attributes similar to the attribute;
obtaining, by the processor, a form associated with the application server;
populating, by the processor, the form to generate an activation request based on the attribute of the IoT device, wherein the activation request relates to activating the IoT device, and wherein the activation request includes the attribute of the IoT device, information associated with the user device, and an intended usage for the IoT device;
forwarding, by the processor, the activation request to the application server, wherein the activation request is forwarded via a service network;
receiving, by the processor and from the application server, activation information for activating the IoT device;
storing, by the processor, the activation information to the cloud storage;
activating, by the processor, the IoT device by forwarding the activation information to the IoT device, wherein the activation information is not sent through the service network, and wherein the activation information includes an indication of a second device to receive data from the IoT device during particular time periods or when the user device is not in communication with the IoT device;
receiving, by the processor, data collected by the activated IoT device;
generating, by the processor, a reporting message based on the data collected by the activated IoT device;
receiving, by the processor and from a user of the user device, an indication of a particular time when the reporting message should be forwarded to the application server; and
forwarding, by the processor, the reporting message to the application server via the service network at the particular time.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein generating the reporting message further includes:
providing a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device;
receiving, through the UI, a user input selecting one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; and
including the selected one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device in the reporting message, wherein the reporting message excludes non-selected ones of the portions of data collected by the activated IoT device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein generating the reporting message further includes:
identifying a status of the user device; and
including, in the reporting message, information identifying the status of the user device.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein generating the reporting message further includes:
receiving, by the processor, data collected by another IoT device; and
including, in the reporting message, at least a portion of the data collected by the other IoT device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the activation information is received during a first time period, and wherein forwarding the activation information to the IoT device further includes:
storing the activation information during the first time period;
receiving a user input during a second time period that is after the first time period; and
forwarding the activation information to the IoT device during the second time period based on receiving the user input.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein forwarding the activation information to the IoT device further includes:
providing a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents the activation information;
receiving, through the UI, a user input identifying a modification to the activation information; and
forwarding the modification to the activation information to the IoT device.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the modification identifies an emergency situation, and wherein the modification causes the IoT device to forward a notification to the application server when the emergency situation is detected.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the attribute of the IoT device includes:
capturing an image of the IoT device; and
processing the image to determine the attribute of the IoT device.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the attribute of the IoT device includes:
establishing a short-range connection between the user device and the IoT device; and
obtaining data identifying the attribute from the IoT device.

### Claim 10

A device comprising:
a memory to store one or more instructions;
a first wireless interface to communicate via a local network;
a second wireless interface to communicate via a service network that differs from the local network; and
a processor configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
identify an attribute of an Internet-of-things (IoT) device that differs from the device;
forward, to a cloud storage, the attribute, wherein the cloud storage stores data identifying IoT devices associated with the device and data associated with IoT devices associated with other devices, and wherein the cloud storage identifies an application server, from a plurality of application servers, that manages similar IoT devices for the other devices, wherein the similar IoT devices include IoT devices with attributes similar to the attribute;
obtain a form associated with the application server;
populate the form to generate an activation request based on the attribute of the IoT device, wherein the activation request relates to activating the IoT device, and wherein the activation request includes the attribute of the IoT device, information associated with the device, and an intended usage for the IoT device;
forward the activation request to the application server using the second wireless interface;
receive, from the application server and using the second wireless interface, activation information for activating the IoT device;
store the activation information to the cloud storage;
activate the IoT device by forwarding, using the first wireless interface, the activation information to the IoT device, wherein the activation information includes an indication of a second device to receive data from the IoT device during particular time periods or when the device is not in communication with the IoT device;
receive, using the first wireless interface, data collected by the activated IoT device;
generate a reporting message based on the data collected by the activated IoT device;
receive from a user associated with the device an indication of a particular time when the reporting message should be forwarded to the application server; and
forward, using the second wireless interface, the reporting message to the application server at the particular time.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the processor, when generating the reporting message, is further configured to:
provide a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device;
receive, through the UI, a user input selecting one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; and
include the selected one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device in the reporting message, wherein the reporting message excludes non-selected ones of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the processor, when generating the reporting message, is further configured to:
identify a status of the device; and
include, in the reporting message, information identifying the status of the device.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the processor, when generating the reporting message, is further configured to:
receive, via the first wireless interface, data collected by another IoT device; and
include, in the reporting message, at least a portion of the data collected by the other IoT device.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the activation information is received during a first time period, and wherein the processor, when forwarding the activation information to the IoT device, is further configured to:
store the activation information during the first time period;
receive a user input during a second time period that is after the first time period; and
forward the activation information to the IoT device during the second time period based on receiving the user input.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the processor, when forwarding the activation information to the IoT device, is further configured to:
provide a user interface (UI) presenting the activation information;
receive, through the UI, a user input identifying a modification to the activation information; and
forward the modification to the activation information to the IoT device.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, wherein the modification identifies an emergency situation, and wherein the modification causes the IoT device to forward a notification to the application server when the emergency situation is detected.

### Claim 17 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the processor, when identifying the attribute of the IoT device, is further configured to:
capture an image of the IoT device; and
process the image to determine the attribute of the IoT device.

### Claim 18 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein the processor, when identifying the attribute of the IoT device, is further configured to:
establish using the first wireless interface, a connection between the device and the IoT device; and
obtain, via the connection, data identifying the attribute from the IoT device.

### Claim 19

A non-transitory computer-readable medium to store instructions, the instructions comprising:
one or more instructions that when executed by a processor associated with a user device, cause the processor to:
identify an attribute of an Internet-of-things (IoT) device;
forward the attribute to a cloud storage, wherein the cloud storage stores data identifying IoT devices associated with the user device and data associated with IoT devices associated with other user devices, and wherein the cloud storage identifies an application server, from a plurality of application servers, that manages similar IoT devices for the other user devices, wherein the similar IoT devices include IoT devices with attributes similar to the attribute;
obtain a form associated with the application server;
populate the form to generate an activation request, wherein the activation request identifies the user device and the attribute of the IoT device, and wherein the activation request includes the attribute of the IoT device, information associated with the user device, and an intended usage for the IoT device;
forward the activation request to the application server, wherein the activation request is forwarded via a service network;
receive, from the application server and via the service network, activation information for activating the IoT device;
store the activation information to the cloud storage;
activate the IoT device by forwarding the activation information to the IoT device, wherein the activation information is not sent through the service network, and wherein the activation information includes an indication of a second device to receive data from the IoT device during particular time periods or when the user device is not in communication with the IoT device;
receive data collected by the activated IoT device;
generate a reporting message based on the data collected by the activated IoT device;
receive an indication of a particular time when the reporting message should be forwarded to the application server; and
forward the reporting message to the application server via the service network at the particular time.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions cause the processor, when generating the reporting message, to:
provide a user interface (UI), wherein the UI presents portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device;
receive, through the UI, a user input selecting one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device; and
include the selected one of the portions of the data collected by the activated IoT device in the reporting message, wherein the reporting message excludes non-selected ones of the portions of data collected by the activated IoT device.