PROVIDING A SERVICE TO A USER DEVICE BASED ON A CAPABILITY OF THE USER DEVICE WHEN THE USER DEVICE SHARES AN IDENTIFIER

• US 20170041284A1
• Filed: 08/03/2015
• Published: 02/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: CHEN, Xuming, LI, Mingxing S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,200,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/103 across network layers, e.g. resolution of network layer into physical layer addresses or address resolution protocol [ARP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4547 for personal communications, i.e. using a personal identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

A device may receive, from multiple user devices associated with a shared identifier, registration information that includes a unique identifier for each user device of the multiple user devices, and capability information that identifies one or more capabilities of each user device. The device may store the registration information. The device may receive, from a service provider device, a query associated with providing a service, requiring a particular capability, to at least one of the user devices associated with the shared identifier. The query may include the shared identifier. The device may determine, based on the query and the stored registration information, a set of unique identifiers associated with the shared identifier, and may determine a set of capabilities corresponding to each unique identifier. The device may provide, to the service provider device, information that identifies the set of unique identifiers and the set of capabilities.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

one or more processors to;

receive, from a plurality of user devices associated with a shared identifier, registration information that includes;

a unique identifier for each user device included in the plurality of user devices, and

capability information that identifies one or more capabilities of each user device included in the plurality of user devices;

store the registration information;

receive, from a service provider device, a query associated with providing a service, requiring a particular capability, to at least one of the plurality of user devices associated with the shared identifier,

the query including the shared identifier;

determine, based on the query and the stored registration information, a set of unique identifiers associated with the shared identifier;

determine a set of capabilities corresponding to each unique identifier included in the set of unique identifiers; and

provide, to the service provider device, information that identifies the set of unique identifiers and the set of capabilities corresponding to each unique identifier included in the set of unique identifiers.

2. The device of claim 1, where a capability, of the set of capabilities, indicates whether a user device, associated with the capability and identified by a particular unique identifier of the set of unique identifiers, supports the service.

3. The device of claim 2, where the service is a particular type of service;

and

where the capability indicates whether the user device supports the particular type of service.

4. The device of claim 2, where the service is associated with a particular application;

and

where the capability indicates whether the user device supports the particular application.

5. The device of claim 1, where the capability information is based on a user preference that indicates whether a user device, of the plurality of user devices, is to support the service.

6. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors, when receiving the registration information, are to:

receive a portion of the registration information, associated with a user device of the plurality of user devices, when the user device registers with a network associated with the device.

7. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors, when providing the information that identifies the set of unique identifiers and the set of capabilities, are to:

provide the information that identifies the set of unique identifiers and the set of capabilities to the service provider device,

the information causing the service provider device to deliver the service to a user device, of the plurality of user devices, that supports the service.

8. A computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

receive, from a first user device associated with a shared identifier, first registration information that includes;

a first unique identifier that identifies the first user device, and first capability information that identifies a first capability of the first user device;

receive, from a second user device associated with the shared identifier, second registration information that includes;

a second unique identifier that identifies the second user device, and

second capability information that identifies a second capability of the second user device;

store the first registration information and the second registration information;

receive, from a service provider device, a query associated with providing a service, requiring a particular capability, to a user device associated with the shared identifier,

the query including the shared identifier;

identify, based on the shared identifier included in the query, the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier; and

provide, to the service provider device and based on identifying the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier, information that identifies;

the first unique identifier and the first capability corresponding to the first unique identifier, or

the second unique identifier and the second capability corresponding to the second unique identifier.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first capability indicates whether the first user device supports the service;

and

where the second capability indicates whether the second user device supports the service.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first capability indicates whether the first user device supports a service type associated with the service;

and

where the second capability indicates whether the second user device supports the service type associated with the service.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first capability indicates whether the first user device supports an application via which the service is provided;

and

where the second capability indicates whether the second user device supports the application via which the service is provided.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first capability indicates a first user preference regarding whether to permit the first user device to receive the service or to prevent the first user device from receiving the service;

and

where the second capability indicates a second user preference regarding whether to permit the second user device to receive the service or to prevent the second user device from receiving the service.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the shared identifier includes a subscriber identifier that identifies a subscriber account associated with the first user device and the second user device.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to receive the first registration information, cause the one or more processors to:

receive the first registration information when the first user device registers with a network; and

where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to receive the second registration information, cause the one or more processors to;

receive the second registration information when the second user device registers with the network.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a device, registration information that identifies;

a plurality of unique identifiers corresponding to a plurality of user devices that share a shared identifier, and

at least one capability of each user device included in the plurality of user devices;

receiving, by the device and from a service provider device, a query associated with providing a service, requiring a particular capability, to at least one of the plurality of user devices that share the shared identifier,

the query including the shared identifier;

identifying, by the device and using the shared identifier included in the query, the plurality of unique identifiers;

identifying, by the device and using the registration information, a plurality of capabilities corresponding to the plurality of unique identifiers; and

providing, by the device and to the service provider device, information that identifies at least one of the plurality of unique identifiers and at least one of the plurality of capabilities,

the providing permitting the service provider device to deliver the service to at least one user device, of the plurality of user devices, that has the particular capability required by the service.

16. The method of claim 15, where the plurality of capabilities indicates whether each user device, included in the plurality of user devices, has the particular capability.

17. The method of claim 15, where the plurality of capabilities indicates whether each user device, included in the plurality of user devices, supports a service type associated with the service.

18. The method of claim 15, where the plurality of capabilities indicates whether each user device, included in the plurality of user devices, supports an application via which the service is provided.

19. The method of claim 15, where a capability, of the plurality of capabilities, indicates whether a user device, of the plurality of user devices, is associated with a user preference that indicates whether the user device is permitted to receive the service.

20. The method of claim 15, where the plurality of unique identifiers differentiate each user device, included in the plurality of user devices, from other user devices included in the plurality of user devices.