Provisioning of wireless connectivity for devices using NFC

• US 20070015463A1
• Filed: 06/23/2005
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Guday, Shai, Nick, Benjamin, Abel, Miller
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0031 for data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/06 using a portable transmitter associated with a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates connecting a wireless device to a secure network. A device can establish a near field communication link with a verified device on a network, wherein the near field communication link can be a secure and/or encrypted link to provision the device without compromising security constraints within the network. An installation component can invoke the transfer of provisioning data to the network via the near field communication link to secure a wireless connection for the device to the network.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates connecting a wireless device to a network, comprising:

a device that establishes a near field communication link with a verified device on the network; and

an installation component that invokes transfer of provisioning data to the network via the near field communication to secure a wireless connection for the device to the network.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a PONG component that utilizes a plug and go technique to transfer the provisioning data to the network via the near field communication link.

3. The system of claim 2, the PONG component further comprises a PONG manager that associates a PONG handler to a request, wherein the PONG handler sends a response to a driver through the PONG manager.

4. The system of claim 3, the PONG component further comprises a PONG driver that channels request from the PONG manager to a PONG device over the near field communication link.

5. The system of claim 4, the PONG component further comprises a PONG handler that receives a request from the PONG manager and parses the contents to determine an appropriate action.

6. The system of claim 5, the PONG component further comprises the implementation of a PONG request and a PONG response that are in a parse-able stream that includes at least one PONG attribute.

7. The system of claim 1, the device is at least one of the following:

a computer;

a network;

a keyboard;

a speaker;

a mouse;

a monitor;

a headset;

a pair of headphones;

a remote;

a router;

an access point;

a printer;

a hard drive;

a modem;

a phone;

a cellular communication device;

a portable digital assistant (PDA); and

a microphone.

8. The system of claim 1, the wireless connection is at least one of a wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and ultra-wideband (UWB).

9. The system of claim 1, the installation component establishes an ad-hoc network between at least the device and an unverified device to enable connectivity there between.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a security component that provides an additional security layer to ensure valid utilization of close proximity data transfer with respect to the near field communication link.

11. The system of claim 10, the security layer can include at least one of the following security techniques:

a smart card;

a certificate;

a cryptographic key;

a user name and password;

a personal identification number (PIN);

a login;

a time-based proximity;

a biometric indicia;

a fingerprint;

an inductance;

a retinal scan;

a human interactive proof (HIP); and

a voice recognition.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a manager component that can manage at least one of the device connectivity to the network, association of one of a plurality of wireless connections associated with the network, and a proximity setting related to the near field communications.

13. The system of claim 12, the manager component utilizes statistical analysis to determine the most efficient wireless connection for the device from a plurality of wireless connections associated with the network.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a master device that has been previously secured to the network, wherein a plurality of wireless devices can connect to a wireless connection associated with the network utilizing near field connection link with the master device.

15. The system of claim 1, the provisioning data includes at least one of installation protocol, authentication protocol, device configuration data, and device related data.

16. A computer readable medium having stored thereon the components of the system of claim 1.

17. A computer-implemented method that facilitates connecting a wireless device to a network, comprising:

establishing a near field communication link between a device and a verified device on the network;

securely exchanging provisioning data to the network across the near field communication link; and

allowing the device to utilize a wireless connection associated with the network.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

implementing a security technique to ensure valid use of the near field communication link;

utilizing a plug and go technique to transfer provisioning data; and

determining an efficient wireless connection for the device to utilize on the network.

19. A data packet that communicates between at least two of an installation component, a device, and a verified device, the data packet facilitates the method of claim 17.

20. A computer-implemented system that facilitates connecting a wireless device to a network, comprising:

means for establishing a near field communication link between a device and a verified device on the network; and

means for invoking the transfer of provisioning data to the network via the near field communication link to secure a wireless connection for the device to the network.