Virtual private network (VPN) tunneling in a user equipment (UE) brokered by a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip communicatively coupled to the user equipment

• US 9,591,434 B1
• Filed: 04/27/2015
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Cordes, Kevin R., Loman, Clint H., Paczkowski, Lyle W., Steele, Kenneth R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Milord, Marceau
• Application Number:
  US14/696,835
• Time in Patent Office: 680 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/556.1, 455/127.2, 455/41.1, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A user equipment (UE). The UE comprises a motherboard comprising a communication bus, a cellular radio frequency transceiver, a processor, a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip, and a memory storing an application. The RFID chip is connected to the communication bus and comprises an RFID near field communication (NFC) transceiver, an RFID internal processor, an RFID internal memory, and an RFID application. When executed by the processor, the application receives a request from the RFID chip to establish a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel via the cellular radio frequency transceiver based on information encapsulated in the request. The RFID application, when executed by the RFID internal processor, receives a message from an NFC device comprising a command to open the VPN tunnel and sends the request to establish the VPN tunnel to the application executed on the processor.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

a motherboard comprising a communication bus;

a cellular radio frequency transceiver connected to the communication bus of the motherboard;

a processor connected to the communication bus of the motherboard;

a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip connected to the communication bus of the motherboard, wherein the RFID chip comprises an RFID near field communication (NFC) transceiver, an RFID internal processor, an RFID internal memory, and an RFID application stored in the RFID internal memory, wherein the RFID chip provides wireless read access to the RFID internal memory and provides write access to the RFID internal memory to the communication bus of the motherboard;

a memory connected to the communication bus of the motherboard; and

an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, receives a request from the RFID chip to establish a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel via the cellular radio frequency transceiver based on information encapsulated in the request,

wherein the RFID application, when executed by the RFID internal processor,

receives a message from an NFC device via the RFID NFC transceiver, wherein the message comprises a command to open the VPN tunnel and an authentication token, and

responsive to receiving the message from the RFID NFC transceiver, sends the request to establish the VPN tunnel to the application executed on the processor, and

wherein the request sent from the RFID chip to the application executed on the processor further comprises the authentication token, and the VPN tunnel is established based on the authentication token.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the cellular radio frequency transceiver is operable to communicate according to one or more of a long term evolution (LTE), a code division multiple access (CDMA), a global system for mobile communication (GSM), or a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) wireless communication protocol.

3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the internal memory of the RFID chip stores an identity of the UE and responsive to receiving the message from the NFC device, the RFID NFC transceiver transmits the identity stored in the RFID internal memory to the NFC device.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein responsive to receiving the message from the NFC device, the RFID NFC transceiver transmits a second authentication token to the NFC device, whereby a second VPN tunnel is established to the UE based on the second authentication token.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the VPN tunnel is established with a content server of a wireless communication service provider and content is received by the UE via the VPN tunnel from the content server.

6. The UE of claim 1, wherein the NFC device is a kiosk in a retail store of a wireless communication service provider which provides cellular communication service to the UE.

7. A method of servicing a consumer electronic device, comprising:

receiving, by a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip coupled to a motherboard of the consumer electronic device, a near field communication (NFC) message from a mobile communication device;

responsive to receiving the NFC message, sending, by the RFID chip, a request to a communication transceiver coupled to the motherboard to establish a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel over an Internet to a cloud computing service;

responsive to the request from the RFID chip, establishing, by the communication transceiver, the VPN tunnel over the Internet to the cloud computing service;

transmitting, by the communication transceiver, consumer electronic device information and an authentication token to the cloud computing service via the VPN tunnel, wherein the consumer electronic device information comprises an identity of the consumer electronic device, user settings of the consumer electronic device, and current state of the consumer electronic device; and

transmitting, by the consumer electronic device, an authentication token to the mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication device includes the authentication token in a request for the consumer electronic device information and sends the request for the consumer electronic device information to an application server, and wherein the application server compares the authentication token from the consumer electronic device and the authentication token in the request for the consumer electronic device information from the mobile communication device and when they match, transmits the consumer electronic device information to the mobile communication device,

whereby the consumer electronic device information is made available to the mobile communication device via the cloud computing service for use by a technician to maintain the consumer electronic device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the consumer electronic device is a big screen television.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the consumer electronic device information comprises authorization tokens for accessing premium services via the consumer electronic device.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the identity of the consumer electronic device comprises a make and model of the consumer electronic device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the consumer electronic device information comprises a serial number of the consumer electronic device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the consumer electronic device information comprises a device fault log.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the consumer electronic device information comprises a log of maintenance actions performed on the consumer electronic device.

14. A memory device, comprising:

a memory media;

a communication bus;

a memory reader communicatively coupled to the communication bus;

a radio frequency transceiver coupled to the communication bus;

a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip coupled to the communication bus wherein the RFID chip comprises an RFID near field communication (NFC) transceiver, an RFID internal processor, an RFID internal memory, and an RFID application stored in the RFID internal memory, wherein the RFID internal memory stores an identity of a paired computing device; and

a processor coupled to the communication bus operable to receive a request to read data from the memory media from the radio frequency transceiver, to request authorization from the RFID chip, to read data from the memory media via the memory reader, and to transmit the read data via the radio frequency transceiver,

wherein the RFID application when executed by the RFID internal processor receives an identity from an external device, compares the identity of the external device to the identity of the paired computing device stored in the RFID internal memory, and responsive to agreement between the identity of the external device and the identity of the paired computing device stored in the RFID internal memory and responsive to the authorization request from the processor, sends authorization to the processor, and

wherein responsive to receiving the authorization, the processor transmits the read data via the radio transceiver based on the agreement between the identity of the external device and the identity of the paired computing device stored in the RFID internal memory.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein when the RFID application does not receive an identity from an external device, the RFID application sends authorization denial to the processor.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the RFID application periodically queries the external device to transmit an identity to the RFID chip.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein the RFID chip has a NFC reception range of about 5 feet.

18. The device of claim 14, wherein the paired computing device is one of a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a headset computer, or a wearable computer.

19. The device of claim 14, wherein the request to read data comprises an identity, the RFID chip sends the identity of the external device in the authorization to the processor, and the processor compares the identity in the request to read data to the identity in the authorization, and wherein the processor transmits the read data via the radio frequency transceiver based on the identities matching.