ESTABLISHING A COLLABORATIVE DOMAIN AMONG COMMUNICATION TERMINALS RESPONSIVE TO AUTHENTICATION

• US 20100015952A1
• Filed: 09/28/2009
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wood, James III
• Granted Patent: US 7,865,174 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals

Abstract

A method of establishing a collaborative domain among a plurality of communication terminals can include having a communication terminal authenticate one or more other communication terminals based on personal information, which can be stored on a removable memory card in the other terminals, and/or based on the geographic location of the other terminals. A first communication terminal can determine the geographic location of a second communication terminal and can authenticate the second communication terminal in response to both the determined geographic location and personal information defined in the second communication terminal. In response to the authentication by the first communication terminal, communication of user and/or program information, which is unrelated to authentication, is allowed between at least the first and second communication terminals.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

first and second communication terminals, wherein the first communication terminal carries out an authentication process for the second communication terminal by communicating with the second communication terminal through a base station transceiver to receive personal information from the second communication terminal that is defined within the second communication terminal, and by authenticating the second communication terminal in response to the received personal information and in response to determining that the second communication terminal is within a defined geographic range of the first communication terminal when the first communication terminal can sense the presence of the second communication terminal through an attempted establishment of a direct point-to-point communication interface between the first and second communication terminals, and

wherein the first communication terminal enables communication of user and/or program information, which is unrelated to authentication, to the second communication terminal in response to the authentication by the first communication terminal.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the second communication terminal carries out an authentication process for the first communication terminal by communicating with the first communication terminal through the base station transceiver to receive personal information from the first communication terminal that is defined within the first communication terminal, and by authenticating the first communication terminal in response to the received personal information and in response to determining that the first communication terminal is within a defined geographic range of the second communication terminal when the second communication terminal can sense the presence of the first communication terminal through an attempted establishment of a direct point-to-point communication interface between the second and first communication terminals; and

the first and second communication terminals respond to the authentication of the second communication terminal by the first communication terminal and the authentication of the first communication terminal by the second communication terminal by enabling communication of user and/or program information between the first and second communication terminals.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the base station transceiver comprises a cellular base station transceiver;

the first and second communication terminals each comprise a cellular communication transceiver and further comprise a wireless local area network transceiver and/or a Bluetooth transceiver;

during the authentication of the second communication terminal by the first communication terminal, the second communication terminal communicates the personal information through its cellular communication transceiver and the base station transceiver to the first communication terminal, and the first communication terminal determines whether it can sense the presence of the second communication terminal utilizing a wireless local area network protocol through its wireless local area network transceiver and/or a Bluetooth communication protocol through its Bluetooth transceiver.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the first communication terminal is further configured to authenticate the second communication terminal based on determining whether the second communication terminal is within a geographic region defined for a user'"'"'s house, work place, and/or another known location where the user is authorized and/or available for inclusion in a collaborative domain with the first communication terminal.

5. The communication system of claim 4, wherein:

the second communication terminal is further configured to determine its geographic location based on triangulation of GPS signals from a constellation of GPS satellites and/or based on triangulation of cellular signals from a plurality of cellular base stations, and to communicate the determined geographic location to the first communication terminal.

6. The communication system of claim 5, wherein:

the second communication terminal is further configured to communicate the determined geographic location to the first communication terminal through the base station transceiver via a cellular communication protocol.

7. The communication system of claim 5, wherein:

the first and second communication terminals each comprise a wireless local area network transceiver and/or a Bluetooth transceiver; and

the second communication terminal is further configured to communicate the determined geographic location to the first communication terminal through the wireless local area network transceiver and/or the Bluetooth transceiver.

8. The communication system of claim 1, wherein:

the first communication terminal communicates an application program to the second communication terminal in response to the authentication of the second communication terminal by the first communication terminal.

9. The communication system of claim 8, wherein:

the second communication terminal comprises at least one of a laptop computer, tablet computer, personal data assistant, and/or other mobile computing device; and

the first communication terminal comprises a file storage server device.

10. A communication system comprising:

a first communication terminal comprising a removable memory card containing personal information, wherein the first communication terminal reads the personal information from the removable memory card and communicates the personal information to the second communication terminal through a base station transceiver;

a second communication terminal comprising a removable memory card containing personal information, wherein the second communication terminal authenticates the first communication terminal in response to the personal information received from the first communication terminal through the base station transceiver and, in response to determining that the first communication terminal is within a defined geographic range of the second communication terminal when the second communication terminal can sense the presence of the first communication terminal through an attempted establishment of a direct point-to-point communication interface between the first and second communication terminals, the second communication terminal reads the personal information from its removable memory card and communicates the personal information to the first communication terminal through the base station transceiver,

wherein the first communication terminal authenticates the second communication terminal in response to the personal information received from the second communication terminal through the base station transceiver and in response to determining that the second communication terminal is within a defined geographic range of the first communication terminal when the first communication terminal can sense the presence of the second communication terminal through an attempted establishment of a direct point-to-point communication interface between the first and second communication terminals, and

the first and second communication terminals enable communication of user and/or program information, which is unrelated to authentication, between the first and second communication terminals in response to the authentication by the first and second communication terminals.

11. The communication system of claim 10, wherein:

the removable memory card containing personal information in each of the first and second communication terminals comprises a removable SIM card.

12. The communication system of claim 10, wherein:

the first and second communication terminals each comprise a cellular communication transceiver, wherein the first and second communication terminals communicate the personal information therebetween through their cellular communication transceivers via the base station transceiver.

13. The communication system of claim 10, wherein:

the first and second communication terminals each initiate the reading of the personal information from their removable memory cards, communication of the respective personal information between the first and second communication terminals, and authentication of one another in response to occurrence of a scheduled time of day event.

14. The communication system of claim 10, wherein:

the first and second communication terminals each initiate the reading of the personal information from their removable memory cards, communication of the respective personal information between the first and second communication terminals, and authentication of one another in response to the first communication terminal receiving a message from the second communication terminal through the intervening base station transceiver.

15. The communication system of claim 10, wherein:

the first communication terminal comprises a display device, and the first communication terminal displays information, which is generated by an application hosted by the second communication terminal and received by the first communication terminal through the point-to-point communication interface, on the display device in response to the authentication by the first communication terminal of the second communication terminal.

16. The communication system of claim 10, wherein:

the first communication terminal hosts an application that receives data from the second communication terminal through the point-to-point communication interface, wherein the data that is received from the second communication terminal is generated by a user interface of the second communication terminal.

17. A communication system comprising:

first and second communication terminals, wherein the first communication terminal determines the geographic location of the second communication terminal and authenticates the second communication terminal in response to both the determined geographic location and personal information that is defined in the second communication terminal and is received by the first communication terminal from the second communication terminal, and

wherein the first communication terminal enables communication of user and/or program information, which is unrelated to authentication, to the second communication terminal in response to the authentication by the first communication terminal.