Automatic connection through a password protected network connection

• US 10,015,312 B1
• Filed: 05/31/2017
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sorenson Ip Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Sorenson Ip Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Pan, Jasper
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Timothy
• Application Number:
  US15/610,284
• Time in Patent Office: 398 Days
• Field of Search: 4554141
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2475 for a hearing impaired user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42391 where the subscribers are hearing-impaired persons, e.g. telephone devices for the deaf
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service

Abstract

Communication devices and network devices may be configured to automatically connect to each other over a password protected network connection without a user setting the password for the password protected network connection. The communication devices may communicate over the password protected network connection to the network device and further to a communication service for providing interpretive services for hearing-impaired users, such as text captions, during a call. Predetermined network names and associated passwords may be persistent prior to set up as well as after a hard reset in which other user defined settings may be erased.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

communication elements configured to communicate with a network device over a local password-protected wireless network;

memory configured to store instructions; and

a processor operably coupled to the communication elements and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the communication device to perform operations, the operations comprising;

obtain a particular password known to the network device and the communication device and unknown by an end-user of the communication device;

obtain a particular service set identifier (SSID) known to the network device and unknown by an end-user of the communication device, the particular SSID not being obtained from the network device over the local password-protected wireless network and corresponding to the local password-protected wireless network and the particular password corresponding to the particular SSID such that the particular password is used to access to the local password-protected wireless network;

after obtaining the particular SSID, monitor service set identifiers obtained by the communication elements to detect the particular SSID broadcast by the network device that corresponds to the local password-protected wireless network; and

in response to detection of the particular SSID, automatically transmit the particular password to the network device to obtain access to the local password-protected wireless network.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein obtaining the particular password includes deriving the particular password from the particular SSID.

3. The communication device of claim 2, wherein deriving the particular password from the particular SSID includes apply a cipher to the particular SSID to derive the particular password.

4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the particular password is transmitted to the network device prior to an initial attempt at connecting the communication device to the local password-protected wireless network being initiated by an end-user of the communication device.

5. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise after obtaining access to the local password-protected wireless network, communicate with a remote communication service through the network device.

6. The communication device of claim 5, wherein the communications with the remote communication service through the network device include:

providing audio to the remote communication service from the communication device over the local password-protected wireless network; and

receiving text captions from the remote communication service over the local password-protected wireless network, the text captions based on the audio.

7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the particular SSID is a portion of an entire SSID broadcast by the network device.

8. The communication device of claim 7, wherein obtaining the particular password includes deriving the particular password from the entire SSID broadcast by the network device.

9. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to not permit the particular password for the local password-protected wireless network to be changed by the end-user.

10. A network device, comprising:

memory configured to store instructions, a particular service set identifier (SSID), and a particular password;

communication elements configured to wirelessly communicate with a communication device over a local password-protected wireless network generated by the network device; and

a processor operably coupled with the memory and the communication elements, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the network device to perform operations, the operations comprising;

broadcast the particular SSID, the particular SSID corresponding to the local password-protected wireless network and the particular password corresponding to the particular SSID such that the particular password is used by the communication device to access the local password-protected wireless network;

receive the particular password from the communication device with a request to connect to the local password-protected wireless network, the particular password being unknown to an end-user of the communication device;

connect the communication device to the local password-protected wireless network;

establish a second local wireless network that represents a different virtual access point that includes a second SSID; and

provide higher priority to network traffic to a remote communication service over the local password-protected wireless network and lower priority to network traffic over the second local wireless network when both are in use at the same time.

11. The network device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise facilitate communication between the communication device and the remote communication service to receive text captions from the remote communication service and to transmit the text captions to the communication device over the local password-protected wireless network for display by the communication device to the end-user.

12. The network device of claim 11, wherein the network device is configured to set the particular password for the local password-protected wireless network to not be editable by the end-user, and to set another password for the second local wireless network to be editable by the end-user.

13. The network device of claim 10, wherein the second local wireless network is used to permit other communication devices to access network traffic unrelated to the remote communication service.

14. A method to connect a communication device with a network device over a local password-protected wireless network, the method comprising:

presenting service set identifiers obtained by the communication device;

obtaining selection of a service set identifier (SSID) broadcast by the network device, the SSID corresponding to the local password-protected wireless network;

in response to the selection of the SSID, automatically deriving, by the communication device, a single particular password to obtain access to the local password-protected wireless network, the single particular password derived by the communication device by applying a function to the SSID;

in response to derivation of the single particular password, automatically transmitting the single particular password to the network device to obtain access to the local password-protected wireless network; and

obtaining, at the network device, a second password for a second local wireless network, wherein the single particular password for the local password-protected wireless network is not editable by an end-user of the communication device and the second password for the second local wireless network is editable by the end-user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the function includes a cipher or a translation.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising after obtaining access to the local password-protected wireless network, communicating with a remote communication service through the network device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein communicating with the remote communication service through the network device includes:

providing audio to the remote communication service from the communication device over the local password-protected wireless network; and

receiving text captions from the remote communication service over the local password-protected wireless network, the text captions based on the audio.

18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media configured to store instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause a system to perform the method of claim 14.