Group-Account Pairing for Persistent Short-Range Device Location

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Solution Overview

Problem

Short-range communication devices often change user accounts when paired with new electronic devices, making it difficult to locate them and causing unnecessary server traffic due to frequent re-registration.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a group account system that integrates user accounts and connected devices, allowing devices to maintain their accounts even when connected to different electronic devices, thereby preventing account changes and re-registration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If short-range communication devices are paired with new electronic devices, then the devices can be used by new users, but the user account changes causing loss of location identification capability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice pairing flexibilityVSAvoidlocation identification reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the account system into individual user accounts and group accounts. When a short-range communication device is paired with a new electronic device, the system checks whether the new user account belongs to the same group account as the original owner. This segmentation allows the device to be adapted to new users while maintaining location identification reliability through group account verification.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces group account information as an intermediary layer between individual user accounts and device ownership. The server stores group account information associated with the short-range communication device, and this intermediary mechanism enables the device to maintain its location identification capability even when paired with different users within the same group, thus resolving the contradiction between pairing flexibility and location identification reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If short-range communication devices are re-registered with different user accounts, then new users can access the devices, but unnecessary server traffic occurs due to frequent re-registration

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser access flexibilityVSAvoidserver traffic

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary verification by checking group account information before performing full re-registration procedures. When a short-range communication device connects to a new electronic device, the system first verifies whether the new user account belongs to the same group account as the original owner. This preliminary action prevents unnecessary re-registration server traffic while still allowing legitimate user access, thus reducing server traffic loss while maintaining user access flexibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If short-range communication devices are shared among multiple users, then device utilization increases, but account management becomes complex and difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice utilizationVSAvoidaccount management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple individual user accounts under a single group account structure. Instead of managing separate accounts for each user of a shared short-range communication device, the system combines them into one group account. This merging simplifies account management by providing a unified verification mechanism while maintaining high device utilization, as multiple users within the group can access and share the device without complex individual account configurations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS12432548B2Method of managing electronic devices based on group account and electronic device for providing the same

Publication Date: 2025.09.30 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a communication circuit, and a processor, wherein the processor may be configured to receive a connection request with a short-range communication device through the communication circuit in a state registered with a first account in a location finding service, to request configuration information related to the location finding service to the short-distance communication device, to receive configuration information stored based on a second account of the short-range communication device from the short-range communication device, to identify whether group account information corresponding to the first account and group account information corresponding to the second account match, and to establish a connection with the short-range communication device while maintaining the second account of the short-range communication device in response to matching of group account information of the short-range communication device and the electronic device.