Device registration in a wireless multi-hop ad-hoc network

• US 7,573,855 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2004
• Issued: 08/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hohl, Fritz, Kovacs, Ernoe
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro; Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAPA, MICHAEL Y
• Application Number:
  US10/588,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20070184837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,825 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 455/63.4, 455/572, 455/41.2, 455/435.1
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/65 Environment-dependent, e.g. using captured environmental data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

A wireless multi-hop ad-hoc network in which a wireless communication device is enabled to register with a multi-hop network in a secure and easy-to-use way. In one implementation a user'"'"'s wireless communication device is registered before allowing the device to enter a wireless multi-hop ad-hoc network and the device participates in communication with wireless nodes connected to the network. For this purpose, the device wirelessly transmits a registration request message to all the wireless nodes and determines the nearest wireless node in its environment being authorized to register the device to the network by evaluating wirelessly received response messages from the nodes.

Claims

1. A method for registering and authenticating a wireless communication device with a wireless ad-hoc network, the method comprising:

wirelessly transmitting a registration request message from a requesting device to a node authorized to register the requesting device to the network;

monitoring an environment of the requesting device to detect other nodes;

sending out voting messages to the detected nodes to ensure that only the requesting device can register at nodes in the environment for a preprogrammed time interval;

authenticating the requesting device towards a user by playing an audio-visual signal,

authenticating the authorized node towards the user by playing an audio-visual signal;

sanctioning registration by the user in a case the requesting device and the authorized node playing the audio-visual signal are ones the user intended to use; and

wirelessly transmitting a registration message in a positive case from the authorized node to the requesting device.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in a case the wireless communication device and/or the wireless node registers lack of an acceptance or rejection message after a preprogrammed time interval has expired, terminating the authentication and registration process.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the audio-visual signals by the wireless communication device and by the authorized wireless node have a common structure out of a large number of possible structures so the user can make a sanctioning decision dependent on whether both signals have the same structure, and

the description of the audio-visual signal to be signaled by the requesting device is wirelessly sent by the authorized node in an encrypted way, so only the requesting device can decrypt the description.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying registered devices of a specific wireless multi-hop ad-hoc network by decrypting and recognizing a network-identifying signal out of a range of different possible signals that is specific for the network generated by a wireless node connected to the network.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein

the network-identifying signal is an audio signal.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein

the network-identifying signal is a visual signal.

7. A method according to claim 4, wherein

the network-identifying signal is an audio-visual signal.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein

the registration request message contains a list containing device capabilities of the wireless communication device to be registered.