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EP-4301015-B1 - NETWORK AUTOMATIC CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE FOR A TRACKER AND STORAGE MEDIUM

EP4301015B1EP 4301015 B1EP4301015 B1EP 4301015B1EP-4301015-B1

Inventors

  • SUN, QUAN

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220330

Claims (9)

  1. An automatic network control method for a tracker, the method comprising: performing, by the tracker, short-range communication with another device to determine whether the another device can provide a remote communication function for the tracker (S101); disabling, by the tracker, a remote communication function of the tracker in response to determining that the another device can provide the remote communication function for the tracker (S102); and performing, by the tracker after disabling the remote communication function, data exchange with a data center through the another device which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker (S103); characterized in that , the method further comprises: enabling, by the tracker, the remote communication function of the tracker in response to determining that the another device cannot provide the remote communication function for the tracker; and performing, by the tracker, data exchange with the data center through the remote communication function of the tracker, and providing the remote communication function for another tracker performing short-range communication with the tracker.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to performing, by the tracker, short-range communication with another device to determine whether the another device can provide a remote communication function for the tracker (S101), the method further comprises: searching, by the tracker, for another device capable of short-range communication nearby; and connecting, by the tracker in response to finding another device capable of short-range communication nearby, to the another device capable of short-range communication through a short-range communication mode.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the another device comprises another tracker and a non-tracker device, and performing, by the tracker, short-range communication with another device to determine whether the another device can provide a remote communication function for the tracker (S101) comprises: determining, by the tracker, whether a non-tracker device exists in the another device performing short-range communication with the tracker; performing, by the tracker in response to determining that a non-tracker device exists in the another device performing short-range communication with the tracker, short-range communication with the non-tracker device to determine whether the non-tracker device can provide the remote communication function for the tracker; and performing, by the tracker in response to determining that a non-tracker device exists in the another device performing short-range communication with the tracker and the non-tracker device cannot provide the remote communication function for the tracker or in response to determining that no non-tracker device exists in the another device performing short-range communication with the tracker, short-range communication with the another tracker to determine whether the another tracker can provide the remote communication function for the tracker.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing, by the tracker, short-range communication with another device to determine whether the another device can provide a remote communication function for the tracker (S101) comprises: sending, by the tracker to the another device through short-range communication, a request message for communicating with the data center through the remote communication function provided by the another device; and determining, by the tracker, that the another device can provide the remote communication function for the tracker, in response to receiving from the another device a response message indicating that the tracker is allowed to communicate with the data center through the remote communication function provided by the another device; or determining, by the tracker, that the another device cannot provide the remote communication function for the tracker, in response to receiving from the another device a response message indicating that the another device does not have a remote communication capability or a response message indicating that the tracker is not allowed to communicate with the data center through the remote communication function provided by the another device.
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein after performing, by the tracker, short-range communication with another device to determine whether the another device can provide a remote communication function for the tracker (S 101), the method further comprises: selecting, by the tracker in response to presence of a plurality of other devices which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker, one other device as a remote communication device from the plurality of other devices which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker, to perform data exchange with the data center through the remote communication device.
  6. The method of claim 5, wherein selecting, by the tracker, one other device as a remote communication device from the plurality of other devices which can provide a remote communication function for the tracker comprises: selecting, by the tracker in response to presence of a plurality of other devices which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker and the plurality of other devices which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker comprising at least one non-tracker device, one non-tracker device as the remote communication device from the at least one non-tracker device; and selecting, by the tracker according to a current network selection mode in response to presence of a plurality of other devices which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker and the plurality of other devices which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker being other trackers, one other tracker as the remote communication device from the other trackers which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker.
  7. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting, by the tracker according to a current network selection mode, one other tracker as the remote communication device from the other trackers which can provide a remote communication function for the tracker comprises: selecting, by the tracker, one other tracker with optimal remote communication signal quality as the remote communication device from the other trackers which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker, in response to the current network selection mode being an optimal network mode; or selecting, by the tracker, one other tracker with the lowest power consumption as the remote communication device from the other trackers which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker, in response to the current network selection mode being an optimal power consumption mode.
  8. An automatic network control device for a tracker, the device comprising a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the automatic network control method for a tracker according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
  9. A storage medium for computer-readable storage, wherein the storage medium storing a program which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the automatic network control method for a tracker according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of Internet of Things, and more particularly, to a low-power automatic network control method, apparatus, and device for a tracker, and a storage medium. BACKGROUND In Internet of Things (IoT) systems, there are long-range communication modes such as 2nd-Generation Wireless Telephone Technology (2G), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT), as well as short-range communication modes such as Wireless Fidelity (WIFI), Bluetooth (BT), Near Field Communication (NFC), Zigbee, Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The co-existence of various long-range communication modes and short-range communication modes not only increases the difficulty of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout in products, but also increases the overall power consumption and overall heat generation. As an important component in the layout of IoT systems, a tracker has limited space for PCBs, but has high requirements on power consumption and heat generation. Therefore, it is necessary to improve user experience of the tracker and reduce the overall heat generation and overall power consumption of the tracker. US20160262094A1 relates to an accessory device that may operate in a first mode, where the first radio of the accessory device is configured to perform cellular communication with a base station, or a second mode, where the second radio of the accessory device is configured to perform short-range communication with a companion device and utilize cellular functionality of the companion device to provide cellular communications through the companion device to the base station. The accessory device may operate to selectively transition between the first mode and the second mode based on one or more factors, such as signal strength of the short-range communication between the accessory device and the companion device, the relative batter level of the two devices, and/or a communications status of the companion device. WO2020153897A1 relates to methods, a location tracking system and a portable location tracker for low power consuming uses cases when the state or position of the tracker needs to be determined also when the tracker is outside short-range wireless communication range with a mobile communications device. The technology disclosed further relates to a low power consuming location tracker system for controlling a plurality of portable location trackers comprising a movement sensor and a remote control and monitoring system for communicating with the portable location trackers via a cellular radio communications network. US20180352530A1 relates to methods and apparatus to enable and disable cellular services for one or more cellular capable secondary wireless devices associated with a primary wireless device. The primary wireless device, in response to detecting a status change of an in use state of a cellular capable secondary wireless device can provide a notification to a network server of a wireless network to disable cellular wireless services for previously enabled cellular capable secondary wireless devices and to enable cellular wireless services for the cellular capable secondary wireless device. Control of cellular wireless services for cellular capable secondary wireless devices can be based on a combination of registration for services, activation and deactivation of eSIMs on the cellular capable secondary wireless devices, and/or changes to eSIM states or contexts maintained by the network server. SUMMARY The invention is set out in the appended set of claims. The present disclosure provides an automatic network control method, apparatus, and device for a tracker, and a storage medium, to reduce the overall heat generation and overall power consumption of the tracker, so as to improve user experience of the tracker. The present disclosure provides an automatic network control method for a tracker. The method includes: performing, by the tracker, short-range communication with another device to determine whether the another device can provide a remote communication function for the tracker; disabling, by the tracker, a remote communication function of the tracker in response to determining that the another device can provide the remote communication function for the tracker; and performing, by the tracker after disabling the remote communication function, data exchange with a data center through the another device which can provide the remote communication function for the tracker. The present disclosure further provides an automatic network control device for a tracker. The device includes a memory, a processor, and a program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, where the program, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to implement the above automatic network control method for a tracker. The present disclosure further provides a storage medium for computer-readable storage, where the stora