Master Device Child Activation via Visual Credential Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile wireless communication devices face challenges in managing and customizing service plans, particularly in sharing and assigning services across multiple devices without service provider involvement, leading to limited utility and increased costs due to data overages.
Innovation Solution
The system allows subscribers to create and manage device groups, share service plans, and assign or restrict services among devices using a master service account, enabling customizable service plans and improved user interfaces for service management through APIs, facilitating communication between service providers and network elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If users subscribe to service plans with limited data usage, then billing costs are controlled, but data service utilization decreases due to fear of overage charges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the service plan into multiple components including base data allowance, overage protection packages, and pay-as-you-go options. Users can subscribe to base plans with limited data and optionally add overage protection segments that automatically activate when thresholds are approached, eliminating the need to choose between limited plans and risk of overages.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively notifying users before their data allowance is exhausted and automatically purchasing additional data packages or activating overage protection in advance. This prevents overage charges before they occur while ensuring continuous service availability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If service plans are customized and shared across multiple devices, then user control and flexibility improve, but service management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges service plan management for multiple devices into a single unified interface accessible from one master device. The master device consolidates control over child devices, allowing users to manage data allowances, view usage across all devices, and control service features from a single location rather than configuring each device separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The master device acts as an intermediary between the network and child devices. It receives service plan configurations from the network and distributes them to child devices, while also monitoring usage on child devices and reporting back to the network. This intermediary role simplifies management by centralizing control functions.
3Loss of energy
If overage protection mechanisms are implemented, then billing cost control improves, but service response time increases due to additional processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system purchases additional data packages or activates overage protection before the user actually exceeds their data allowance. By performing this action preliminarily when usage approaches thresholds (e.g., 80% or 90% utilization), the system avoids the time delay that would occur if overage protection had to be activated after an overage event.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automatic overage protection mechanisms that self-activate based on pre-configured thresholds without requiring user intervention. The master device automatically monitors usage across all devices and triggers protection mechanisms when thresholds are approached, eliminating the need for manual user actions that would delay protection activation.
4Ease of operation
If device groups are managed without service provider involvement, then ease of operation improves, but reliability of service provisioning decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The master device serves as an intermediary that enables users to manage device groups autonomously without direct service provider involvement. The master device communicates with the network on behalf of child devices, handling device addition, removal, and service plan allocation. This intermediary approach maintains reliability by ensuring all management actions are properly communicated to and authorized by the network, while giving users direct control.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A
AI summary
A master wireless device and a child wireless device execute respective device activation sequences. On the child wireless device, the activation sequence displays, on a display of the device, a non-textual image representing a unique child device credential. On the master wireless device, the activation sequence prompts a user to capture a digital picture of the child wireless device screen. The master wireless device presents its own credentials, along with information from the digital picture, to a service management system in a network, allowing the service management system to verify that the master wireless device is associated with a subscriber and is allowed to configure a child device, as well as verify the child device. Upon successful verification, the service management system activates the child wireless device to the subscriber account of the master wireless device.