Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a heat dissipation mechanism, a gateway having the heat dissipation mechanism, and a lite-gateway having the heat dissipation mechanism.

Background of the Invention

During use of a gateway or a lite-gateway, radio waves are transmitted, and during transmission of radio waves, heat is produced due to use of electric power. Such heat remains in a housing of the gateway or the lite-gateway, leading to a rise in temperature in the housing.

Conventionally, there is a method of using an exhaust fan to dissipate the residual heat in the housing, but the use of the exhaust fan will increase electric power consumption of a product. There is also another method of simply providing mesh-shaped holes on a side of the housing to dissipate heat, in which case, however, foreign matters such as dust can easily enter an inner cavity of the housing through the mesh-shaped holes, possibly affecting components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing.

There is thus an urgent need for a heat dissipation mechanism that can not only dissipate heat but also prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing.

Summary of the Invention

The present disclosure aims at providing a heat dissipation mechanism that can dissipate heat and prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing, a gateway, and a lite-gateway.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a heat dissipation mechanism is provided. The heat dissipation mechanism is a heat dissipation mechanism provided on a housing. The heat dissipation mechanism includes a heat dissipation unit. The heat dissipation unit includes: a heat dissipation slit, which is formed in a side wall of the housing and communicates with an inner cavity of the housing; and a blocking mechanism, which is formed such that when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit, the inner cavity of the housing is blocked by the blocking mechanism and is not visible.

According to such a structure, the blocking mechanism provided can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering an inside of the housing, thereby helping to prolong service life of components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing.

Preferably, the blocking mechanism includes: a connecting portion, which extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from an inner wall surface of the side wall toward the inner cavity of the housing, a side surface of the connecting portion being coplanar with a side surface of the heat dissipation slit; and a blocking portion, an end of the blocking portion being fixedly connected with the connecting portion, another end of the blocking portion extending toward a plane where another side surface of the heat dissipation slit is located, and the blocking portion having a blocking surface substantially parallel to the inner wall surface of the side wall. When viewed in the direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit, the inner cavity of the housing is blocked by the blocking surface and is not visible.

According to such a structure, the blocking mechanism has a substantially L- shaped structure having the connecting portion and the blocking portion, among which the blocking portion has a blocking surface that prevents foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing. The structure is simple and easy to manufacture. More preferably, the connecting portion and the blocking portion are formed in one piece, which can simplify the manufacturing process and enhance the strength of connection in the blocking mechanism.

Preferably, the heat dissipation unit further includes: a first partition, which extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from an outer wall surface of the side wall toward an outside of the housing, a side surface of the first partition being coplanar with a side surface of the heat dissipation slit; and a second partition, which extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from the outer wall surface of the side wall toward the outside of the housing, a side surface of the second partition being coplanar with another side surface of the heat dissipation slit.

According to such a structure, the first partition and the second partition provided on respective ones of two sides of the heat dissipation slit can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing from a direction that is not perpendicular to the heat dissipation slit, thereby achieving an effect of further blocking foreign matters such as dust. Service life of components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing is thus guaranteed in a more effective way.

Preferably, the blocking mechanism includes a first blocking mechanism and/or a second blocking mechanism.

The first blocking mechanism includes: a first connecting portion, which extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from the inner wall surface of the side wall toward the inner cavity of the housing, a side surface of the first connecting portion being coplanar with a first side surface of the heat dissipation slit; and a first blocking portion, an end of the first blocking portion being fixedly connected with the first connecting portion, another end of the first blocking portion extending toward a plane where a second side surface of the heat dissipation slit is located, and the first blocking portion having a first blocking surface substantially parallel to the inner wall surface of the side wall. When viewed in the direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit, the inner cavity of the housing is blocked by the first blocking surface and is not visible.

The second blocking mechanism includes: a second connecting portion, which extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from the inner wall surface of the side wall toward the inner cavity of the housing, a side surface of the second connecting portion being coplanar with the second side surface of the heat dissipation slit; and a second blocking portion, an end of the second blocking portion being fixedly connected with the second connecting portion, another end of the second blocking portion extending toward a plane where the first side surface of the heat dissipation slit is located, and the second blocking portion having a second blocking surface substantially parallel to the inner wall surface of the side wall. When viewed in the direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit, the inner cavity of the housing is blocked by the second blocking surface and is not visible.

According to such a structure, in the two types of blocking mechanisms, extension directions of the blocking portions relative to the connecting portions are different, which allows the blocking portions to be able to receive heat flowing clockwise and heat flowing counterclockwise respectively. This renders it possible to make a flexible setting depending on an actual flowing direction of heat.

Preferably, the heat dissipation mechanism includes a plurality of heat dissipation units provided on a same side wall of the housing.

According to such a structure, a plurality of the above-mentioned heat dissipation units is provided on a same side wall of the housing, which facilitates rapid heat dissipation.

Preferably, a plurality of heat dissipation units each having the first blocking portion are arranged side by side in an area of the side wall, and a plurality of heat dissipation units each having the second blocking portion are arranged side by side in another area of the side wall.

Preferably, a plurality of heat dissipation units each having the first blocking portion and a plurality of heat dissipation units each having the second blocking portion are alternately arranged on the side wall. According to the above structure, heat dissipation units provided on a same side wall can be arranged together or arranged alternatively according to types thereof. Patterns of the arrangement are flexible.

Preferably, the heat dissipation mechanism further includes a heat dissipation hole formed in a bottom wall of the housing. The heat dissipation hole communicates with the inner cavity of the housing.

According to such a structure, the heat dissipation hole formed in the bottom wall of the housing can enhance heat dissipation effects and facilitate rapid heat dissipation.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a gateway is provided. A housing of the gateway is provided with any of the above described heat dissipation mechanisms.

According to such as structure, the above described heat dissipation mechanism is provided on the housing of the gateway. The blocking mechanism of the heat dissipation mechanism can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering an inside of the housing of the gateway, thereby helping to prolong service life of components and a power supply contained in an inner cavity of the gateway.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a lite-gateway is provided. A housing of the lite-gateway is provided with any of the above described heat dissipation mechanisms. The lite-gateway has only a part of functions of a gateway.

According to such as structure, the above described heat dissipation mechanism is provided on the housing of the lite-gateway having only a part of functions of a gateway. The blocking mechanism of the heat dissipation mechanism can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering an inside of the housing of the lite-gateway, thereby helping to prolong service life of components and a power supply contained in an inner cavity of the lite-gateway.

Brief Description of the Drawings The scope of the present disclosure can be better understood by reading the detailed description of the following exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a housing of an electronic product having a heat dissipation mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an inner cavity of the housing shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a heat dissipation unit shown in Fig. 2 after being cut off by a plane parallel to a bottom surface of the housing;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the heat dissipation unit viewed from an outside of the housing;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the inner cavity of the housing shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing distribution of heat dissipation units each having a first blocking portion and heat dissipation units each having a second blocking portion on a same side wall;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of heat dissipation units provided for a case where heat in the housing flows in a counterclockwise direction;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of heat dissipation units provided for a case where heat in the housing flows in a clockwise direction;

Fig. 9 shows a bottom view of the housing shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a schematic topological diagram of a Bluetooth low energy mesh network in the prior art; Fig. 11 is a schematic topological diagram of a Bluetooth low energy mesh network according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a scanning strategy of a gateway in the prior art;

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a gateway in Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a scanning strategy of the gateway in Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

Fig. 15 is a schematic flowchart of a sub-net configuration method for a Bluetooth low energy mesh network;

Fig. 16 is a schematic flowchart of a method for determining a target sub-net by a lite-gateway according to sub-net information;

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of an example of the sub-net configuration method for a Bluetooth low energy mesh network;

Fig. 18 is a schematic flowchart of a message uploading method based on a Bluetooth low energy mesh network;

Fig. 19 is a schematic diagram of an example of the message uploading method based on a Bluetooth low energy mesh network; and

Fig. 20 is a schematic flowchart of a Bluetooth tag location determination method based on a Bluetooth low energy mesh network.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, implementation of the present disclosure will be described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, so that one can fully understand the process of how the present disclosure uses technical means to solve technical problems and achieve technical effects and thus implement the present disclosure.

In the existing technologies, there is a method of simply providing mesh- shaped holes on a side of a housing to dissipate heat. However in this case foreign matters such as dust can easily enter an inner cavity of the housing through the mesh-shaped holes, possibly affecting components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing. In order to solve this problem, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a heat dissipation mechanism that can not only dissipate heat but also prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing.

Embodiment 1

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a housing of an electronic product having a heat dissipation mechanism 21 according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an inner cavity of the housing 2 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the housing of the electronic product includes a housing 2 and a cover 1 that is engaged with the housing 2. Referring to Figs. 2 and 5, the heat dissipation mechanism 21 of the present embodiment is arranged on three side walls of the housing 2, and the heat dissipation mechanism 21 includes one or more heat dissipation units. Of course, it is also possible that only one or two side walls of the housing 2 are provided with the heat dissipation mechanism 21, and the number of heat dissipation units of the heat dissipation mechanism 21 may also be flexibly configured according to actual requirements, which is not limited by the present disclosure.

A structure of the heat dissipation units of the heat dissipation mechanism 21 will be described in detail below with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the heat dissipation unit shown in Fig. 2 after being cut by a plane parallel to a bottom surface of the housing 2. As shown in Fig. 3, the heat dissipation unit includes a heat dissipation slit 213 and a blocking mechanism. The heat dissipation slit 213 is opened on the side wall of the housing 2 and communicates with the inner cavity of the housing 2. The heat dissipation slit 213 may have a cross section in a rectangular shape, or in a shape with a rectangle in a middle and a semicircular at both ends. Two opposite side surfaces located in a middle of the heat dissipation slit 213 are a first side surface 2131 and a second side surface 2132, respectively. The blocking mechanism is formed such that when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit 213, the inner cavity of the housing 2 is blocked by the blocking mechanism and is not visible.

Here, in order to effectively dissipate heat flowing in different directions (in clockwise and counterclockwise directions) out of the housing 2, the blocking mechanism may include a first blocking mechanism and a second blocking mechanism.

The first blocking mechanism includes a first connecting portion 214 and a first blocking portion 215. The first connecting portion 214 extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from an inner wall surface 211 of the side wall toward the inner cavity of the housing 2, a side surface of the first connecting portion 214 being coplanar with the first side surface 2131 of the heat dissipation slit 213. An end of the first blocking portion 215 is fixedly connected with the first connecting portion 214, and another end of the first blocking portion 215 extends toward a plane where the second side surface 2132 of the heat dissipation slit 213 is located. The first blocking portion 215 has a first blocking surface that is substantially parallel to the inner wall surface 211 of the side wall. The first connecting portion 214 and the first blocking portion 215 are formed in a substantially L shape. When viewed in the direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit 213, the inner cavity of the housing 2 is blocked by the first blocking surface and is not visible.

In this way, when foreign matters such as dust enter the heat dissipation slit 213, the first blocking surface of the first blocking mechanism can effectively prevent the foreign matters such as dust from entering an inside of the housing 2, thereby helping to prolong service life of components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing 2.

In addition, the first blocking mechanism is a substantially L-shaped structure having the first connecting portion 214 and the first blocking portion 215, among which the first blocking portion 215 has the first blocking surface that prevents foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing 2. The structure is simple and easy to manufacture. Preferably, the first connecting portion 214 and the first blocking portion 215 are formed in one piece, which can simplify the manufacturing process and enhance the strength of connection in the first blocking mechanism.

On the other hand, a space formed by the first connecting portion 214 and the first blocking portion 215 of the first blocking mechanism, together with the heat dissipation slit 213, form a heat dissipation channel through which heat in the housing 2 can be dissipated out of the housing 2.

The second blocking mechanism is similar in structure to the first blocking mechanism. The second blocking mechanism and the first blocking mechanism are mirror-symmetrical. Specifically, the second blocking mechanism includes a second connecting portion and a second blocking portion. The second connecting portion extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from the inner wall surface of the side wall toward the inner cavity of the housing, a side surface of the second connecting portion being coplanar with the second side surface of the heat dissipation slit. An end of the second blocking portion is fixedly connected with the second connecting portion, and another other end of the second blocking portion extends toward a plane where the first side surface of the heat dissipation slit is located. The second blocking portion has a second blocking surface substantially parallel to the inner wall surface of the side wall. The second connecting portion and the second blocking portion are formed in a substantially L shape. When viewed in the direction perpendicular to the side wall and through the heat dissipation slit, the inner cavity of the housing is blocked by the second blocking surface and is not visible.

In this way, when foreign matters such as dust enter the heat dissipation slit, the second blocking surface of the second blocking mechanism can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the inside of the housing, thereby helping to prolong service life of components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing. In addition, the second blocking mechanism is a substantially L- shaped structure having the second connecting portion and the second blocking portion, among which the second blocking portion has the second blocking surface that prevents foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing. The structure is simple and easy to manufacture. Preferably, the second connecting portion and the second blocking portion are formed in one piece, which can simplify the manufacturing process and enhance the strength of connection in the second blocking mechanism. On the other hand, a space formed by the second connecting portion and the second blocking portion of the second blocking mechanism, together with the heat dissipation slit, form a heat dissipation channel through which heat in the housing can be dissipated out of the housing.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to Fig. 4, in order to further reduce the possibility of foreign matters such as dust entering the housing 2, the heat dissipation unit further includes a first partition 216 and a second partition 217 both provided on an outer side wall of the housing 2. The first partition 216 extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from an outer wall surface 212 of the side wall toward an outside of the housing 2, a side surface of the first partition 216 adjacent to the heat dissipation slit 213 being coplanar with the first side surface 2131 of the heat dissipation slit 213. The second partition 217 extends in the direction perpendicular to the side wall from the outer wall surface 212 of the side wall toward the outside of the housing 2, a side surface of the second partition 217 adjacent to the heat dissipation slit 213 being coplanar with the second side surface 2132 of the heat dissipation slit 213. In this way, the first partition 216 and the second partition 217 provided on respective ones of two sides of the heat dissipation slit 213 can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the inner cavity of the housing 2 from a direction that is not perpendicular to the heat dissipation slit 213, thereby achieving an effect of further blocking foreign matters such as dust. Service life of components and a power supply contained in the inner cavity of the housing 2 is thus guaranteed in a more effective way.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, in a case where the heat dissipation mechanism 21 has a plurality of heat dissipation units provided on a same side wall of the housing 2, as shown in Fig. 6, a plurality of heat dissipation units (a group B of heat dissipation units) each having the first blocking portion 215 are arranged side by side in an area of the side wall, and a plurality of heat dissipation units (a group A of heat dissipation units) each having the second blocking portion are arranged side by side in another area of the side wall. Optionally, a plurality of heat dissipation units each having the first blocking portion 215 and a plurality of heat dissipation units each having the second blocking portion are alternately arranged on the side wall (not shown), in which case, the two types of heat dissipation units are arranged alternately and heat dissipation units of a same type are not arranged adjacent to each other.

Here, the heat dissipation units each having the first blocking portion 215 are suitable for dissipating heat flowing clockwise in the housing 2, and the heat dissipation units each having the second blocking portion are suitable for dissipating heat flowing counterclockwise in the housing 2. As shown in Fig. 7, heat flowing counterclockwise (indicated by arrow P) is dissipated out from the heat dissipation units each having the second blocking portion that are provided on each side wall of the housing 2, and a small amount of such heat can also be dissipated out from the heat dissipation units each having the first blocking portion 215. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 8, heat flowing clockwise (indicated by arrow Q) is dissipated out from the heat dissipation units each having the first blocking portion 215 that are provided on each side wall of the housing 2, and a small amount of such heat can also be dissipated out from the heat dissipation units each having the second blocking portion.

According to such a structure, in the two types of blocking mechanisms, extension directions of the blocking portions relative to the connecting portions are different, which allows the blocking portions to be able to receive heat flowing clockwise and heat flowing counterclockwise respectively. This renders it possible to make a flexible setting depending on an actual flowing direction of heat.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in Fig. 9, the heat dissipation mechanism 21 further includes a heat dissipation hole 22 formed in a bottom wall of the housing 2. The heat dissipation hole 22 communicates with the inner cavity of the housing 2. The heat dissipation holes 22 formed in the bottom wall of the housing 2 can enhance heat dissipation effects and facilitate rapid dissipation of heat.

The above heat dissipation mechanism may be arranged on a housing of a gateway or a lite-gateway. In this way, the blocking mechanisms provided can effectively prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering an inside of the housing of the gateway or lite-gateway, thereby helping to prolong service life of components and a power supply contained in an inner cavity of the gateway or lite-gateway.

The gateway and the lite-gateway may be used to form a Bluetooth mesh network. A Bluetooth mesh network, as well as a sub-net configuration method, a message uploading method, and a Bluetooth tag location determination method based on the Bluetooth mesh network will be described in detail below.

It should be noted that the following embodiments are described in detail by taking a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) mesh network as an example.

Embodiment 2

In traditional design, the BLE communication is peer-to-peer. BLE tags or sensor nodes communicate directly with gateways. As shown in Fig. 10, a tag communicates with a cloud server via two gateways respectively. With this communication method, due to the hardware limitation of BLE technology, messages cannot be transmitted for long distance and gateways must be deployed very close to BLE tags to receive BLE messages sent from BLE tags. In addition, due to the high cost and high deployment density of gateways, the deployment cost of the entire network is high.

In order to solve the above technical problems existing in the prior art, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a BLE mesh network, which can transmit messages for long distance and has low deployment cost.

The BLE mesh network of this embodiment includes a plurality of sub-nets. Each sub-net includes one gateway and at least one lite-gateway. Here, gateways serve as access devices, and lite-gateways serve as relay devices. Lite-gateways only have a portion of the functions of gateways, and thus the deployment cost of lite-gateways is lower than the deployment cost of gateways. Gateways communicate with a cloud server. Each lite-gateway may communicate with a gateway directly, or may communicate with a gateway via other lite-gateways. Messages output by Bluetooth tags are relayed to gateways via one or more lite-gateways, and then gateways process the received messages and upload the processed messages to the cloud server for storage and analysis.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic topological diagram of a BLE mesh network according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 11, a BLE mesh network 200 includes a sub-net 201, a sub-net 202, and a sub-net 203. The structure of the sub-net is described below by taking the sub-net 201 as an example. The sub-net 201 includes gateway GW1 and two lite-gateways, namely, LGW1 and LGW2. Tag TAG1 communicates with gateway GW1 via lite-gateway LGW1. Tag TAG2 communicates with gateway GW1 via lite-gateway LGW2. Gateway GW1 communicates with a cloud server 100. Lite-gateways belonging to the same sub-net may not communicate with each other (for example, lite-gateways in the sub-net 201), or may communicate with each other (for example, lite-gateways in the sub-net 202 and in the sub-net 203). This is not limited in this embodiment of the present disclosure.

In this embodiment, a lite-gateway has only a part of the functions of a gateway, such as message receiving function, message sending function, and message filtering function. The functions of the lite-gateway are not limited to this. The lite-gateway may further have a function of the gateway of assisting in locating. The function of assisting in locating refers to assisting in locating based on received signal strength indication (RSSI).

When applying the BLE mesh network of this embodiment, since lite-gateways for message relay are added between Bluetooth tags and gateways, messages can be relayed by lite-gateways and then transmitted to gateways deployed far away, so that long distance transmission of messages can be realized. In addition, since lite-gateways have only a part of the functions of gateways, the deployment cost of lite-gateways is lower than the deployment cost of gateways, which effectively reduces the deployment cost of the BLE mesh network.

This embodiment of the present disclosure is mainly to build a simple, reliable, and low-cost wireless transmission network, to solve the problem of transmission distance limitation of a BLE mesh network, and to assist in locating asset location. The BLE mesh network of the embodiment of the present disclosure enables many-to-many (M: M) device communications to create large-scale device networks. The embodiment of the present disclosure is suited for building automation, asset management system, sensor networks, and other IoT solutions where tens, hundreds, or thousands of devices need reliable and secure communication for long distance transmission on a large scale.

Fig. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a scanning strategy of a gateway in the prior art. As shown in Fig. 12, the gateway uses a single BLE chip to scan three scan channels in a poll manner. The BLE chip first performs message scanning on a first scan channel (scan channel 37 with a center frequency of 2402MHz), then performs message scanning on a second scan channel (scan channel 38 with a center frequency of 2426MHz), and subsequently performs message scanning on a third scan channel (scan channel 39 with a center frequency of 2480MHz). Next, the BLE chip repeats the above scanning process. When message scanning is performed on each scan channel, the time period of each scan is determined according to scan interval and scan window parameters.

However, when the gateway further includes a 2.4G WiFi module (the gateway in this embodiment includes a 2.4G WiFi module and a 5G WiFi module), the wireless scanning of the 2.4G WiFi module will interfere with one or two of the three scan channels of the BLE chip, which reduces the reliability of data transmission.

In order to solve the above problem, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the internal structures of the gateway and the lite-gateway are improved. Fig. 13 shows a schematic diagram of a structure of a gateway according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 14 shows a schematic diagram of a scanning strategy of the gateway according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to Fig. 13 and Fig. 14, the gateway includes a first BLE chip, a second BLE chip, a third BLE chip, and a processor. The first BLE chip perform message scanning on a first scan channel (scan channel 37 with a center frequency of 2402MHz). The second BLE chip performs message scanning on a second scan channel (scan channel 38 with a center frequency of 2426 MHz). The third BLE chip performs message scanning on a third scan channel (scan channel 39 with a center frequency of 2480 MHz). The processor communicates with the first BLE chip, the second BLE chip, and the third BLE chip respectively. The scanning of the first BLE chip on the first scan channel, the scanning of the second BLE chip on the second scan channel, and the scanning of the third BLE chip on the third scan channel are performed simultaneously. Messages scanned by the respective BLE chips are transmitted to the processor through UART interfaces, and then the processor filters and processes these messages. The processor may be a processor such as a CPU. Specifically, the first BLE chip, the second BLE chip, the third BLE chip, and the processor are integrated on a same printed circuit board.

In the present embodiment, the gateway uses three BLE chips, each of which scans a scan channel. Therefore, compared with the solution in the prior art in which a single BLE chip is used to poll three scan channels, the scan efficiency in this embodiment is doubled. In addition, three scan channels are scanned simultaneously, which increases the possibility of receiving messages and thus ensures the reliability of the entire BLE mesh network.

Furthermore, in a case where the gateway is integrated with a 2.4G WIFI module in addition to the processor and the three BLE chips, the gateway of this embodiment can solve the problem that the 2.4G WiFi module interferes with the scan channels of the BLE chips. Specifically, the BLE chips generally use scan channels 37, 38 and 39 for scanning. The relevant WIFI interference channels are channels 1, 3, 4, 5, 13 and 14, so the best solution is to use WIFI channels 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. 2.4G WIFI will only interfere with one to two of the first, second and third scan channels. Therefore, when the three BLE chips work simultaneously, the scanning of at least one BLE chip will not be affected by WIFI, which improves the reliability of data transmission. That is, when the 2.4G WIFI module works on a certain channel, it only affects a part of the scan channels of the BLE chips. For example, the WIFI channel 2412MHz only affects the first scan channel 37 (with a center frequency of 2402 MHz) and the second scan channel 38 (with a center frequency of 2426MHz) without interference to the third scan channel 39 (with a center frequency of 2480 MHz). The simultaneous scanning on three scan channels by three BLE chips can enhance the anti-interference ability and make the network more reliable.

In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the lite-gateway has a configuration structure similar to the gateway. The lite-gateway also includes three BLE chips (a fourth BLE chip, a fifth BLE chip, and a sixth BLE chip). However, the lite-gateway does not have a processor and a WIFI module. The fourth BLE chip performs message scanning on a first scan channel. The fifth BLE chip performs message scanning on a second scan channel. The sixth BLE chip performs message scanning on a third scan channel. The fourth BLE chip, the fifth BLE chip, and the sixth BLE chip simultaneously perform message scanning on their respective scan channels. The fourth BLE chip, the fifth BLE chip, and the sixth BLE chip are integrated on a same printed circuit board.

The configuration principle of the lite-gateway is the same as that of the gateway, and will be omitted for brevity. The configuration of the lite-gateway in this embodiment can also double the scanning efficiency, which improves the possibility of receiving messages. Moreover, the lite-gateway can also enhance the anti-interference ability and make the network more reliable.

A sub-net configuration method for the BLE mesh network of Embodiment 2 will be described below. Fig. 15 shows a schematic flowchart of a sub-net configuration method for the BLE mesh network in Fig. IE As shown in Fig. 15, the sub-net configuration method mainly includes step S101 to step S104.

In step S 101 , gateways in the BLE mesh network each are allocated to different sub-nets.

Specifically, a gateway uniquely corresponds to a sub-net. Different gateways each are allocated to different sub-nets. Referring to an example in Fig. 17, a mesh network includes two gateways, namely, GW1 and GW2. In this case, gateway GW1 is allocated to a sub-net 201, and gateway GW2 is allocated to a sub-net 202.

In step S102, each gateway in the BLE mesh network transmits, within a scope of the mesh network, sub-net information of a sub-net to which the gateway belongs. Here, sub-net information includes a sub-net identification code and a Time to Live value. Each time sub-net information is transmitted, the Time to Live value in the sub-net information will be decreased by 1.

Specifically, each gateway in the BLE mesh network periodically transmits, within a scope of the mesh network, sub-net information of a sub-net to which the gateway belongs. The way the gateway transmits its sub-net information may be to flood its sub-net information within the entire mesh network. Time to Live value in sub-net information is limited to prevent endless transmission of information.

The detailed description is still made with reference to the example in Lig. 17. Gateway GW1 outputs sub-net information associated with the sub-net to which gateway GW1 belongs. The sub-net information includes a sub-net identification code and a Time to Live value (hereinafter referred to as TTL value). The sub -net identification code uniquely corresponds to the sub-net and is the identity of the sub-net. The TTL value in the sub-net information output by gateway GW1 is a default value. In the example shown in Lig. 17, the default value of the TTL value is 3. The TTL value of the sub-net information output by gateway GW 1 is 3. Each time the sub-net information is transmitted, the TTL value in the sub-net information will be decreased by 1. If a lite-gateway receives sub-net information whose TTL value is 3, the lite-gateway will decrease the TTL value of the sub-net information by 1 and then transmit it again to a subsequent lite-gateway that communicates with the lite-gateway. Each time a subsequent lite-gateway transmits the sub-net information, the TTL value of the sub-net information will be decreased by 1 until a certain lite-gateway receives the sub-net information whose TTL value is 0. If a lite-gateway receives the sub-net information whose TTL value is 0, the lite-gateway will directly discard the sub-net information whose TTL value is 0 and no longer transmit it.

In step S103, a lite-gateway receives sub-net information of each sub-net and determines a target sub-net according to the sub-net information. Specifically, a method for determining a target sub-net by a lite-gateway according to sub-net information is shown in Fig. 16. The method mainly includes step S1031 to step S1034.

In step S 1031, a lite-gateway compares TTL values in all received sub-net information.

In step S1032, the lite-gateway determines whether there is only one piece of sub-net information whose TTL value is the biggest among all the received sub-net information.

In step S1033, if it is determined that there is only one piece of sub-net information whose TTL value is the biggest among all the received sub-net information, a sub-net corresponding to a piece of sub-net information whose TTL value is the biggest is determined as a target sub-net.

In this step, a sub-net corresponding to the only sub-net information whose TTL value is the biggest is determined as a target sub-net.

In step S1034, if it is determined that there is more than one piece of sub-net information whose TTL value are all the biggest (namely, there are a plurality of pieces of sub-net information whose TTL value are all the biggest) among all the received sub-net information, a sub-net corresponding to a piece of sub-net information whose RSSI value is the biggest among the pieces of sub-net information whose TTL value are all the biggest is determined as a target sub-net.

In this step, if there are a plurality of biggest TTL values, a target sub-net is further determined based on RSSI values. That is, the RSSI values of the plurality of pieces of sub-net information whose TTL value is the biggest are further compared to determine, as a target sub-net, the sub-net corresponding to a piece of the sub-net information whose RSSI value is biggest among the pieces of sub-net information.

In step S104, the lite-gateway joins in the determined target sub-net. Specifically, after the target sub-net is determined in the above manner, the lite-gateway joins in the target sub-net, so that the lite-gateway belongs to the target sub-net.

For each of separate lite-gateways (namely, a lite-gateway that has not yet been allocated to a certain sub-net), the method of the above step S101 to step S104 is applied to configure the separate lite-gateways into sub-nets so to complete sub-net configuration for the entire BLE mesh network. For a lite-gateway that cannot join in a certain sub-net using the above steps, the lite-gateway is set to belong to each of the sub-nets.

A process of lite-gateway LGW3 joining in a sub-net will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Gateway GW1 transmits to lite-gateway LGW3 sub-net information whose TTL value is 3. Gateway GW2 transmits to lite-gateway LGW3 sub-net information whose TTL value is 1 through two lite-gateways (the TTL value of the sub-net information transmitted by gateway GW2 is decreased by 1 each time the sub-net information passes through a lite-gateway, and after the relay of two lite-gateways, the TTL value turns from a default value of 3 to 1). Next, lite-gateway LGW3 compares the TTL values of the sub-net information from gateways GW1 and GW2, and takes as a target gateway gateway GW1 corresponding to the sub-net information whose TTL value is larger (i.e., 3). Then, lite-gateway LGW3 joins in the target sub-net 201 to which target gateway GW1 belongs.

A process of lite-gateway LGW4 joining in a sub-net will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Gateway GW1 transmits to lite-gateway LGW4 sub-net information whose TTL value is 2 through a lite-gateway. Gateway GW2 transmits to lite-gateway LGW4 sub-net information whose TTL value is 2 through a lite-gateway (the TTL value of the sub-net information transmitted by gateway GW2 is decreased by 1 each time the sub-net information passes through a lite-gateway, and after the relay of a lite-gateway, the TTL value is turned from a default value of 3 to 2). Next, lite-gateway LGW3 compares the TTL values of the sub-net information from gateways GW1 and GW2. In a case where the TTL values of the two pieces of sub-net information are identical (both being 2), gateway GW1 corresponding to the sub-net information whose RSSI value is bigger is taken as a target gateway. Then, lite-gateway LGW4 joins in the target sub-net 201 to which target gateway GW1 belongs.

According to the above method, a lite-gateway can use received sub-net information of each sub-net to select and join in a nearest sub-net. The setting of TTL value can limit times of transmission of sub-net information of each sub-net in the mesh network, which can reduce the network traffic.

In addition, there exist the problems in the prior art that, when edge nodes communicate with gateways, messages are transmitted in plain text and can be detected easily by third party, which causes a high risk of information leakage, and the entire network can also be attacked by hackers easily. In order to solve the above problems, preferably, sub-net information transmitted during the sub-net configuration process is encrypted, and then the encrypted sub-net information is transmitted within a scope of the mesh network. Upon reception of the encrypted sub-net information, lite-gateways decrypt the received encrypted sub-net information and determine target sub-nets according to the decrypted sub-net information. Specifically, sub-net information is encrypted with AES 128 algorithm.

The above sub-net configuration method can improve the security of transmission of sub-net information in the mesh network, which reduces the risk of leakage of sub-net information and the possibility of the entire network being attacked by hackers.

A message uploading method based on the BLE mesh network of Embodiment 2 will be described below. Fig. 18 shows a schematic flowchart of a message uploading method based on the BLE mesh network of Fig. 11. As shown in Fig. 18, the message uploading method mainly includes step S201 to step S203.

In step S201, a Bluetooth tag broadcasts a message, the message including a message body, a message TTL value, and a message sequence number.

In step S202, a lite-gateway receives the message broadcast by the Bluetooth tag and floods the message in a sub-net to which the lite-gateway belongs, so as to transmit the message to a gateway in the sub-net.

In step S203, the gateway processes the received message and uploads the processed message to a cloud server.

A method for flooding a message in a sub -net to which a lite-gateway belongs involved in step S202 will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 19.

A message broadcast by Bluetooth includes a message body, a message TTL value, and a message sequence number. The message body is the specific data to be uploaded to the cloud server. The message TTL value is similar to information TTL value involved in the sub-net configuration method, and is used to limit times of message transmission to prevent endless message transmission. The message sequence number is the identity of a message, each message having a unique message sequence number corresponding to the message. Here, the earlier a message output by a Bluetooth tag, the smaller the message sequence number of the message. Compared with a subsequently output message, an early output message is an old message.

Referring to Fig. 19, a message broadcast by Bluetooth tag TAG3 is first directly received by gateway GW1. In the sub-net 201, there are three communication paths associated with Bluetooth tag TAG4, namely, a first path of TAG4->LGW5->LGW6->LGW7, a second path of TAG4->LGW5->LGW8->GW1, and a third path of TAG4 ->LGW5->LGW6->LGW8->GW1.

In a message transmission process, for a lite-gateway for message relay, there are two processes involved. First, the lite-gateway performs an update operation of decreasing the TTL value in a received message by 1, and determines whether the TTL value in the message after the update operation is 0. If it is determined that the TTL value in the message after the update operation is 0, the lite-gateway discards the message after the update operation. If it is determined that the TTL value in the message after the update operation is greater than 0, it is further determined whether a message sequence number with a value greater than or equal to a value of the message sequence number in the message after the update operation has been stored locally. If it is determined that a message sequence number with a value greater than or equal to a value of the message sequence number in the message after the update operation has been stored locally, the lite-gateway discards the message after the update operation. If it is determined that a message sequence number with a value greater than or equal to a value of the message sequence number in the message after the update operation has not been stored locally, the lite-gateway locally stores the message sequence number in the message after the update operation, and transmits the message after the update operation to a lite-gateway or a gateway that communicates with the lite-gateway.

A message transmission process will be illustrated by taking lite-gateway LGW6 as an example. Upon reception of a message whose TTL value is 2 transmitted by lite-gateway LGW5, lite-gateway LGW6 first determines that the TTL value (which is 2) in the received message is greater than 0, and then decreases the TTL value of the message by 1, an updated TTL value being 1. Next, lite-gateway LGW6 determines whether a message sequence number with a value greater than or equal to a value of the message sequence number in the above message has been stored locally, namely, lite-gateway LGW6 determines whether a message that is a duplicate or old message with respect to said message has been stored locally. If it is determined that a message sequence number with a value greater than or equal to a value of the message sequence number in the above message has not been stored locally, lite-gateway LGW6 stores the message sequence number in the above message locally and transmits the updated message (whose TTL value is 1) to lite-gateway LGW7 and lite-gateway LGW8. Subsequently, lite-gateway LGW7 and lite-gateway LGW8 also transmit the message with the same procedure.

According to the above method, on the one hand, Bluetooth mesh networking utilizes a managed flood approach (i.e., broadcast flooding mechanism) for message transmission in a sub-net (namely, message TTL value is used to limit times of transmission of a message in a sub-net). Messages can only be transmitted within sub-nets, which reduces the network traffic. Hence, the above method is a simple and reliable form of message relay that is suited for low-power wireless mesh networks, especially those handling a significant amount of multicast traffic. This makes the above method an ideal approach for the strict reliability, scalability, and performance requirements of the commercial and industrial markets. On the other hand, according to the above method, the message sequence number can be used to suppress the situation where a message is repeatedly transmitted by the same lite-gateway and the situation where a lite-gateway transmits an old message after transmitting a new message. Thus, duplicate and old messages can be filtered out, which reduces duplicate traffic in the network and prevents malicious attacks.

In addition, there exist the problems in the prior art that, when edge nodes communicate with gateways, messages are transmitted in plain text and can be detected easily by third party, which causes a high risk of information leakage, and the entire network can also be attacked by hackers easily. In order to solve the above problems, preferably, a message transmitted during a message uploading process is encrypted, and then the encrypted message is flooded within a sub-net. Upon reception of the encrypted message transmitted by a Bluetooth tag or other lite-gateways, a lite-gateway decrypts the received encrypted message and determines that the message LLT value in the message after an update operation is greater than 0. If a message sequence number with a value greater than or equal to a value of the message sequence number in the message after the update operation has not been stored locally, the lite-gateway encrypts the message after the update operation and transmits the encrypted message to a lite-gateway or a gateway that communicates with the lite-gateway. Specifically, messages are encrypted with AES 128 algorithm.

The above method can improve the security of transmission of messages output by Bluetooth tags in sub-nets, which reduces the risk of message leakage and the possibility of the entire network being attacked by hackers.

A Bluetooth tag location determination method based on the BLE mesh network of Embodiment 2 will be described below. Fig. 20 shows a schematic flowchart of a Bluetooth tag location determination method based on a BLE mesh network. As shown in Fig. 20, the Bluetooth tag location determination method mainly includes step S301 and step S302.

In step S301, a cloud server acquires RSSI values of messages broadcast by a Bluetooth tag and then received by at least three devices and. Here, the at least three devices belong to the Bluetooth mesh network.

Specifically, after a Bluetooth tag broadcasts messages, at least three devices in the BLE mesh network can directly receive the messages broadcast by the Bluetooth tag. Here, the expression “directly receive” means that the devices receive the messages broadcast by the Bluetooth tag without the relay of other devices, but directly scan the messages broadcast by the Bluetooth tag. The devices that directly receive the messages record in the messages RSSI values of the received messages. The devices may be lite-gateways or gateways. In a case where the devices are lite-gateways, the messages in which RSSI values are recorded are uploaded to the cloud server via the relay of gateways (or other lite-gateways and gateways). In a case where the devices are gateways, the messages in which RSSI values are recorded are directly uploaded to the cloud server.

In step S302, the cloud server determines location information of the Bluetooth tag according to the acquired RSSI values and preset location information of the at least three devices.

Specifically, first, for each of the at least three devices, a distance between the device and the Bluetooth tag is determined according to the RSSI value of the message from the Bluetooth tag received by the device. Then, the location information of the Bluetooth tag is determined according to the distance between each of the at least three devices and the Bluetooth tag and the preset location information of the at least three devices.

A distance between a device and the Bluetooth tag can be calculated by the following formula: d = 10 ^A ((abs(RSSI)-A) / (10 * n))

In the formula, d represents a distance between the device and the Bluetooth tag, RSSI represents a received signal strength indication value (negative value) when the device receives a message from the Bluetooth tag, A represents a signal strength when the Bluetooth tag and the device are 1 meter apart, and n represents an environmental attenuation factor. After acquiring the distance between each of the at least three devices and the Bluetooth tag, circles are drawn with the respective devices as centers. An intersection of the three circles is the location of the Bluetooth tag.

According to the above method, the cloud server utilizes the RSSI values of the messages from the Bluetooth tag received by at least three devices in the Bluetooth mesh network in connection with the pre-stored location information of these devices to obtain the location information of the Bluetooth tag using geometric relationships. Hence, the above method provides a reliable Bluetooth tag locating method.

Although the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure are as described above, the contents described are only the embodiments used to facilitate the understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any person skilled in the technical field of the present disclosure can make any modifications and changes in the form and details of implementation without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. However, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall still be subject to the scope as defined in the appended claims.