Token-Based Authorization for Multi-User Content Output Devices
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies do not effectively allow multiple user accounts to be associated with a content output device, limiting collaborative access to content libraries across different user accounts.
Innovation Solution
A system that enables multiple user accounts to be associated with a content output device by using a token-based authorization process, allowing invited users to access and output content from their own libraries on the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a content output device is associated with a single user account, then device complexity and authorization management are simplified, but collaborative access to content libraries across multiple user accounts is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a token as an intermediary element that mediates between multiple user accounts and the content output device. The token contains authorization information that allows the device to verify and manage access from different users without requiring complex multi-account binding mechanisms. This resolves the contradiction by enabling collaborative access through a simplified token-based approach rather than direct multi-account association.
2Ease of operation
If multiple user accounts are associated with a content output device, then collaborative access and user flexibility are enhanced, but the complexity of account management and authorization increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a token that copies or represents the authorization information of user accounts without requiring the actual account credentials to be stored or managed on the device. The token serves as a lightweight copy that encapsulates the necessary access permissions, allowing multiple users to access the device conveniently while keeping the device's account management complexity low.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the authorization management approach by changing the parameter representation from storing multiple account credentials to using a single token with embedded authorization data. This parameter change simplifies the device's storage and verification processes while still supporting multiple user accesses, thereby improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Productivity
If traditional authorization methods are used for single-user devices, then security management is straightforward, but seamless collaboration between multiple users is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The token acts as a secure intermediary that carries authorization information between the user accounts and the content output device. It maintains security by encoding access permissions in a controlled manner while enabling seamless collaboration. The device verifies the token's authenticity and the user's permissions without requiring complex security protocols, thus maintaining reliability while improving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A device implementing a system to associate a user account with a content output device includes at least one processor configured to receive an invitation to access content associated with a first user account on another device associated with a second user account, the other device being connected to a local area network. The at least one processor is further configured to send, to a server, a request for authorization to access the content associated with the first user account on the other device associated with the second user account, the request comprising information included with the invitation, and to receive, from the server, the authorization to access the content. The at least one processor is further configured to access, based at least in part on the authorization, the content associated with the first user account on the other device associated with the second user account.