Media Device Personal Content Control via Mobile Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Shared media devices, such as TVs and set-top boxes, face challenges in securely managing access to personal content among multiple users without requiring frequent password typing, which is inconvenient and risky due to lack of keyboards and potential exposure of private information.
Innovation Solution
Establishing a wireless connection between a media device and a mobile user device to receive account information and usage terms, allowing controlled access to personal content based on specified rules, enabling secure and convenient access management without the need for frequent password entry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If password typing is required for every user change, then security is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to lack of keyboards and frequent user changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile device as an intermediary to transmit authentication credentials wirelessly to the media device. This mediator enables secure authentication without requiring physical keyboard input, resolving the contradiction between security and ease of operation by eliminating the need for manual password typing while maintaining secure access control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical keyboard typing process with wireless electronic transmission of authentication data. Instead of physically typing passwords on a keyboard, the system uses wireless communication (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other wireless protocols) to transmit credentials from the mobile device to the media device, eliminating the mechanical input requirement while preserving security
2Reliability
If password typing is required, then access control is improved, but risk of information exposure worsens due to users watching hands or screen
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves as a secure intermediary that handles sensitive authentication data transmission without requiring the data to be displayed or typed on the shared media device. The credentials are transmitted wirelessly through the mobile device, preventing shoulder-surfing attacks and screen observation threats while maintaining access control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the password input process from the shared media device environment entirely. By requiring authentication credentials to be entered on the user's personal mobile device and transmitted wirelessly, the system removes the vulnerable password typing step from the shared device context, eliminating the risk of observation attacks
3Ease of operation
If wireless connection with mobile device is established, then ease of operation is improved by eliminating password typing, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the mobile device's existing wireless communication capabilities (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC) which are universal features already present in smartphones and tablets. By utilizing these pre-existing multi-functional wireless interfaces, the system adds authentication functionality without requiring specialized hardware, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling personal content on a media device includes establishing, at the media device, a wireless connection with a mobile user device using a wireless communication circuit of the media device; receiving, from the mobile user device, account information for an account associated with personal content, the personal content of the account accessible by the media device from a server computer over a communication network or from a memory of the media device; receiving, from the mobile user device, a usage term for accessing or using the personal content of the account; and controlling access to or usage of the personal content of the account by the media device based on the received account information and the usage term.