Service providing apparatus and server providing method

• US 20040010685A1
• Filed: 02/25/2003
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ueno, Yoshifumi, Gotoh, Kazuhiro, Sasaki, Tetsuo, Kobuna, Masayuki, Taya, Shinichiro, Aoki, Osamu, Ohama, Motohiro, Iida, Akinori, Sakaguchi, Haruhiko, Nakajima, Tomihiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,300,819 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user

Abstract

In service providing apparatus and method, system identification data for specifying a service target device and the user of the device concerned are issued to the device concerned, and authentication processing is carried out on the basis of the system identification data to provide a service to the device concerned.

Claims

1. A service providing apparatus for providing a service, comprising:

identification data issuing means for issuing, to a service target device, system identification data for specifying the service target device and the user of the device concerned through data communications with the service target device; and

service providing means for authenticating the device concerned and the user of the device concerned on the basis of the system identification data in response to a service request from the device concerned and providing the service to the device concerned.

2. A service providing method for providing a service, comprising:

an identification data issuing step for issuing, to a service target device, system identification data for specifying the service target device and the user of the device concerned through data communications with the service target device; and

a service providing step for authenticating the device concerned and the user of the device concerned on the basis of the system identification data in response to a service request from the device concerned and providing a service to the device concerned.

3. The service providing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said identification data issuing step issues the system identification data on the basis of device identification data for identifying the device concerned uniquely and user identification data for specifying the user.

4. The service providing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said identification data issuing step acquires system data indicating the structure of the device, and said service providing step refers to the system data to provide a service to the device concerned.

5. The service providing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said service providing step acquires system data indicating the structure of the device concerned from the device concerned in response to a service request from the device concerned, and refers to the system data thus acquired to provide a service to the device concerned.

6. The service providing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the service provided by said service providing step is a program downloading service.

7. A service providing apparatus for providing a service, comprising:

system identification data issuing means for issuing, to a device communicating through a network, system identification data for identifying the device concerned and the user of the device concerned;

authenticating means for authenticating the device concerned and the user of the device concerned on the basis of the system identification data in response to a service request from the device concerned; and

service providing means for providing a service to the device concerned when the device concerned and the user of the device concerned are authenticated in said authenticating means.

8. A service providing apparatus for providing a service, comprising:

system identification data issuing means for issuing, to a device communicating through a network, system identification data for identifying the device concerned and the user of the device concerned;

authenticating means for authenticating the device concerned and the user of the device concerned on the basis of the system identification data in response to a download request from the device concerned; and

download service providing means for providing a download service to be provided to the device concerned on the basis of system data indicating the system structure of the device concerned when the device concerned and the user of the device concerned are authenticated in said authenticating means.

9. The service providing apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said download service providing means refers to the system data to provide an updatable application.