Techniques for providing secure access to a communication system

• US 7,451,220 B1
• Filed: 03/07/2006
• Issued: 11/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: 3Com Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Jain, Vipin, Dalgic, Ismail
• Primary Examiner(s): Kang; Paul H
• Application Number:
  US11/371,213
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/239, 708/109, 370/352
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42 Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers specially adapted for wireless communication networks H04W4/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42272 whereby the subscriber registers to the terminals for personalised service provision
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4285 Notifying, informing or entertaining a held party while on hold, e.g. Music On Hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters

Abstract

A public telephone and Internet access system that comprises Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) that are connected to an Ethernet or other Local Area Network by a network cradle, and a number of Ethernet telephones connected to the same Local Area Network. The PDAs store encrypted information about their owners, including the owner'"'"'s name, their phone forwarding preferences, access permissions to the network, and charging/billing information. When a PDA is attached to a network cradle, this information is automatically transferred to the gatekeeper, which is a server that performs management tasks for the Ethernet phone network. These tasks include deciding whether or not a user is allowed to sign up and use a public Ethernet phone, maintaining billing and charging information, and forwarding incoming calls for a given user to the Ethernet phone at the user'"'"'s current location. This invention provides a secure method for the PDA and the gatekeeper to exchange authentication information.

Claims

1. A method of providing secure access to a communication system comprising:

receiving user data from an information appliance via an information appliance cradle associated with a telephone connected to a network, wherein the cradle and the telephone are separately connected to the network;

authenticating the information appliance based on the user data;

opening a port for use by the associated telephone to communicate voice data over the network provided the authentication is successful; and

closing the port in response to detecting an operational variation associated with the information appliance that is unfamiliar to the network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user data comprises one or more data consisting of user identity, user billing information, phone forwarding preferences, accesses permissions to the network.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the user data is used to perform one or more management task consisting of deciding whether or not a user is allowed to sign up and use the telephone, maintaining billing information, and forwarding incoming calls for a given user to a given telephone at a user'"'"'s current location.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the telephone communicates using an Ethernet protocol.

5. A compound network apparatus comprising:

a telephone to communicate voice data; and

a cradle, associated with the telephone, to receive a portable computer system;

a server, communicatively coupled through a network to the telephone and separately to the cradle, to authenticate data received from the portable computer system, to open a port for use by the telephone provided the authentication is successful, and to close the port in response to detecting an operational variation, associated with the portable computer system, that is unfamiliar to the network.

6. The compound network apparatus of claim 5, wherein the telephone is a digital telephone.

7. The compound network apparatus of claim 5, wherein the telephone is an Ethernet phone.

8. The compound network apparatus of claim 7, wherein the Ethernet phone uses the port to communicate with the network.

9. The compound network apparatus of claim 5, wherein the cradle and communication device are located in proximity to each other.

10. The compound network apparatus of claim 5, wherein the portable computer system comprises a personal digital assistant.

11. The compound network apparatus of claim 5, wherein the network comprises one or more system consisting of a public network, a private network, a public telephone system, a private telephone system, a private local area network (LAN), a commercial LAN, and the internet.

12. The compound network apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a voice over internet protocol gateway coupled between the telephone and the network.