Method and device for pairing a terminal and a user account

• US 9,497,273 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2011
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sagemcom Documents SAS (Sagemcom Holding SAS)
• Original Assignee: Sagemcom Documents SAS (Sagemcom Holding SAS)
• Inventors: Sabatier, Pierre, Sartori, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan, Atta
• Application Number:
  US13/991,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20140297877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,813 Days
• Field of Search: 709/227
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms

Abstract

A pairing must be performed between a terminal, referred to as terminal to be paired, and a user account for a service implemented by at least one device connected to a first communication network. The terminal to be paired is connected via a second communication network to a gateway which interconnects the first and second communication networks by performing an address translation by means of a public address routable on the first communication network. A pairing device performs steps: of obtaining (3.2) said public address; of detecting (3.4) an access to said user account, said access being performed from another terminal (1.2), distinct from the terminal to be paired; of obtaining (3.5) the address of said other terminal; of pairing (3.6) the terminal to be paired and said user account if the address of said other terminal coincides with said public address.

Claims

1. A method for pairing a terminal, referred to as terminal to be paired, and a user account for a service implemented by a device connected to a first communication network, the method being implemented by at least one pairing device connected to the first communication network, said terminal to be paired being connected via a second communication network to a gateway that interconnects the first and second communication networks by performing an address translation by means of a public address routable over the first communication network, wherein said pairing device performs:

obtaining, via a received request in accordance with Simple Traversal of UDP through NATs (STUN) or HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) standard, said public address of the terminal to be paired and a unique identifier of the terminal to be paired;

associating the public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired with a lapsing instant;

deleting the public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired when the lapsing instant has passed;

when receiving a message with a new public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired, overwriting the public address associated with the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired with the new public address, the new public address becoming the public address associated with the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired, detecting an access to said user account, said access being performed from another terminal, distinct from the terminal to be paired,

obtaining the public address of said other terminal routable over said first communication network;

pairing the terminal to be paired and said user account by pairing the identifier of the terminal to be paired with an identifier of the user account, when the obtained public address of said other terminal coincides with said obtained public address of the terminal to be paired; and

, when further receiving a document associated with a unique identifier from a terminal;

identifying a user account of the service that was subject of pairing with the terminal identified by the received unique identifier; and

, transmitting to the device implementing the service the received document for archiving in association with the identified user account.

2. The pairing method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining said public address is performed by transmitting by said terminal to be paired said public address in association with an identifier of said terminal to be paired.

3. The pairing method according to claim 2, wherein said method comprises obtaining, by said terminal to be paired, said public address from a device connected to said first communication network.

4. The pairing method according to claim 1, wherein pairing is performed by a pairing device, wherein detecting an access to said user account consists of notifying said access by a server to said pairing device, and wherein said pairing method further comprises transmitting, by said server, an identifier of said user account and said address of said other terminal.

5. The pairing method according to claim 4, wherein pairing comprises seeking, among a set of public addresses stored by said pairing device and associated respectively with identifiers of terminals to be paired, said address of said other terminal.

6. The pairing method according to claim 1, wherein detecting an access to said user account consists of detecting a registration of the user account to said service.

7. A pairing device adapted to pair a terminal, referred to as terminal to be paired, and a user account for a service implemented by a device connected to a first, communication network, said pairing device being connected to the first communication network, said terminal to be paired being connected via a second communication network to a gateway that interconnects the first and second communication networks by performing an address translation by means of a public address mutable over the first communication network, wherein said pairing device is configured for:

obtaining, via a received request in accordance with Simple Traversal of UDP through NATs (STUN) or HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) standard, said public address of the terminal to be paired and a unique identifier of the terminal to be paired;

associating the public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired with a lapsing instant;

deleting the public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired when the lapsing instant has passed;

when receiving a message with a new public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired, overwriting the public address associated with the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired with the new public address, the new public address becoming the public address associated with the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired, detecting an access to said user account, said access being performed from another terminal, distinct from the terminal to be paired;

obtaining the public address, mutable over said first communication network, of another terminal, distinct from the terminal to be paired, from which an access is performed to said user account;

pairing the terminal to be paired and said user account by pairing the identifier of the terminal to be paired with an identifier of the user account, when the obtained public address of said other terminal coincides with said obtained public address of the terminal to be paired; and

,

when further receiving a document associated with a unique identifier from a terminal;

identifying a user account of the service that was subject of pairing with the terminal identified by the received unique identifier; and

,

transmitting to the device implementing the service the received document for archiving in association with the identified user account.

9. A system comprising:

a gateway interconnecting first and second communication networks;

a terminal connected to the gateway via the second communication network;

a pairing device according to claim 7, adapted to pair said terminal.

8. A non-transitory storage medium storing a computer program comprising instructions for implementing, by a pairing device using a service, and when said program is executed by a processor of said pairing device, a method for pairing a terminal, referred to as terminal to be paired, and a user account for a service implemented by at least one device connected to a first communication network, said terminal to be paired being connected via a second communication network to a gateway that interconnects the first and second communication networks by performing an address translation by means of a public address mutable over the first communication network, wherein said method comprises:

obtaining, via a received request in accordance with Simple Traversal of UDP through NATs (STUN) or HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) standard, said public address of the terminal to be paired and a unique identifier of the terminal to be paired;

associating the public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired with a lapsing instant;

deleting the public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired when the lapsing instant has passed;

when receiving a message with a new public address of the terminal to be paired and the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired, overwriting the public address associated with the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired with the new public address, the new public address becoming the public address associated with the unique identifier of the terminal to be paired, detecting an access to said user account, said access being performed from another terminal, distinct from the terminal to be paired;

obtaining the public address of said other terminal routable over said first communication network;

pairing the terminal to be paired and said user account by pairing the identifier of the terminal to be paired with an identifier of the user account, when the obtained public address of said other terminal coincides with said obtained public address of the terminal to be paired; and

,

when further receiving a document associated with a unique identifier from a terminal;

identifying a user account of the service that was subject of pairing with the terminal identified by the received unique identifier; and

transmitting to the device implementing the service the received document for archiving, in association with the identified user account.