# US 2014/0192792 A1 · Method for controlling wireless network devices and control device with wireless network function > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0192792 A1 - Document ID: US20140192792A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/062,852 - Filed: 2013-10-24 - Published: 2014-07-10 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-04 - Assignees: Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Wei-Cheng HUANG; Mei-Yi Tsai; Shang-Yuan Yuan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140192792A1 ## CPC - H04W 76/10: Connection setup - H04W 48/20: Selecting an access point - H04W 84/20: Leader-follower arrangements - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract The present invention discloses a method for controlling wireless network devices, which includes the following steps: a control device with a wireless network function is utilized to scan several access-point (AP) mode wireless network devices. One of the AP mode wireless network devices is selected as a master AP according to the scanning result. The at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one is set to a client mode. The at least one wireless network device set to the client mode builds a connection to the control device with a wireless network function through the master AP. The present invention also discloses a control device with a wireless network function. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for controlling wireless network devices comprising: (a) scanning a plurality of access-point mode (AP mode) wireless network devices by utilizing a control device with a wireless network function; (b) selecting one of the AP mode wireless network devices as a master AP according to the scanning result of step (a); (c) setting the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one to a client mode; and (d) driving the at least one wireless network device set to the client mode to build a connection to the control device with a wireless network function through the master AP. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises: obtaining detected-device number of each AP mode wireless network device, wherein each detected-device number represents the number of devices detected by each AP mode wireless network device, wherein the AP mode wireless network device with the maximal detected-device number is selected as the master AP at step (b). ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1 further comprising: obtaining a connection profile for connecting to the master AP; transmitting the connection profile to the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one; and driving the at least one wireless network device set to the client mode to build a connection to the master AP according to the connection profile. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 3 further comprising: when the master AP supports operating in the client mode and the AP mode simultaneously, driving the master AP to build a connection with the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one for transmitting the connection profile. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises: obtaining connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device as basis for selecting at step (b). ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 5, wherein the connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device comprises signal strength, communication-channel information or information for connecting to Internet of each AP mode wireless network device. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1 further comprising: driving the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one to set to the client mode with the AP mode enabled when the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one supports operating in the client mode and the AP mode simultaneously. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method for controlling wireless network devices of claim 1 further comprising: receiving a first selection signal through an input unit of the control device with a wireless network function for performing the selection at step (b); and receiving a second selection signal through the input unit of the control device with a wireless network function for selecting one of the AP mode wireless network devices to set to the client mode and to connect to the master AP. ### Claim 9 A control device with a wireless network function comprising: a wireless network module; and a processing unit electrically connected with the wireless network module, wherein the processing unit comprises: a scanning module configured to drive the wireless network module to scan a plurality of AP mode wireless network devices through a wireless network to generate a scanning result; a selecting module configured to select one of the AP mode wireless network devices as a master AP according to the scanning result; and a connection-building module configured to set the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one to a client mode and to drive the at least one wireless network device set to the client mode to build a connection to the control device with a wireless network function through the master AP. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The control device with a wireless network function of claim 9, wherein the scanning module comprises: an obtainer configured to obtain detected-device number of each AP mode wireless network device, wherein each detected-device number represents the number of devices detected by each AP mode wireless network device, wherein the selecting module selects the AP mode wireless network device with the maximal detected-device number as the master AP. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The control device with a wireless network function of claim 9, wherein the processing unit further comprises: an obtaining module configured to drive the wireless network module to obtain a connection profile for connecting to the master AP through the wireless network; and a transmitting module configured to transmit the connection profile to the at least one AP mode wireless network device other than the selected one, wherein the at least one wireless network device set to the client mode builds a connection to the master AP according to the connection profile. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The control device with a wireless network function of claim 9, wherein the scanning module comprises: an obtainer configured to obtain connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device, wherein the selecting module performs selection according to the connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The control device with a wireless network function of claim 12, wherein the connection-related information of each AP mode wireless network device comprises signal strength, communication-channel information or information for connecting to Internet of each AP mode wireless network device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The control device with a wireless network function of claim 9 further comprising an input unit electrically connected with the processing unit, wherein a first selection signal is received through the input unit for the selecting module to perform the selection, wherein a second selection signal is received through the input unit for the processing unit to select one of the AP mode wireless network devices to set to the client mode and to connect to the master AP.