Portable Profile Transfer for Consumer Electronics

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face challenges in accessing and adapting to personal settings and content when using consumer electronics devices not owned by them, as existing solutions either provide limited personalization or require manual input and storage of settings and content.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for transmitting personal settings from a user's associated consumer electronics device to a foreign device via a network server, allowing seamless adaptation and access to preferred settings and content, using a mobile terminal to initiate and manage the transfer, ensuring security and convenience.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If personal settings and content are stored on the user's own device, then the user experience is personalized and consistent, but the settings and content are not available when the user is not at home

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveavailability of personal settings and contentVSAvoidloss of personal settings and content

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a portable copy of the user's profile data (settings, content, preferences) that can be transferred between devices. The profile is stored on a portable storage medium and can be loaded onto different consumer electronics devices, allowing the user to access their personalized settings anywhere without being tied to a single device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a portable storage medium as an intermediary carrier between the user's home device and the foreign device. This intermediary enables the transfer and storage of profile data, allowing the user to maintain access to their personalized settings when moving between different locations and devices.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If settings are stored centrally on servers, then users can access personalized content across devices, but the system requires user login with username and password and does not provide full personalization for all user interactions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecross-device accessibilityVSAvoiduser authentication and setup complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of requiring users to log in to a central server system, the patent creates a portable copy of the user profile that is already pre-configured with all necessary settings and content. This eliminates the need for authentication and setup procedures when using foreign devices, as the profile is self-contained on the portable storage medium.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If the actual owner blocks folders or files on the device with username-password protection, then security is maintained, but the user must manually configure access and the process is complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity of device contentVSAvoidmanual configuration of access

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The portable storage medium acts as a secure intermediary that contains the user profile. The device owner can control access by managing what is stored on the portable medium, while the user simply needs to load the pre-configured profile without dealing with complex security configurations or manual folder blocking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Adaptability or versatility

If a user wants to use content stored on a portable storage medium, then the user can access content away from home, but the storage capabilities of portable storage medium are limited and the user must manually store content before leaving

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveportability of contentVSAvoidmanual storage and management of content

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The user profile including all settings and content is pre-loaded onto the portable storage medium before the user leaves home. This preliminary action eliminates the need for the user to manually manage or store content separately when away from home, as everything is already prepared and ready to be loaded onto the foreign device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2043070B1Method for controlling consumer electronics devices, mobile terminal and consumer electronics device

Publication Date: 2021.01.27 VODAFONE GMBH

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AI summary

The present invention relates to a method for controlling consumer electronics devices (3) which is characterized in that at least part of the personal settings of a consumer electronics device (1) associated to a current user of a foreign consumer electronics device (3) are received at the foreign consumer electronics device (3) from a remote unit (4, 1) and are at least temporarily installed on the foreign consumer electronics device (3). Also a mobile terminal (2) for communication with at least one consumer electronics device (3, 1) and a consumer electronics device (1, 3) having at least one communication interface (31) for communication with a mobile terminal (2) and / or for communication with at least one remote unit (4, 1) are described.