US 2018/0295191 A1 · LEVERAGING MEDIA DEVICE PAIRING TO SIMPLIFY GRANTING MOBILE DEVICE ACCESS TO EXTERNAL NETWORK

Abstract

A media server receives a request from an unpaired mobile device, queries a login database to determine whether the mobile device is logged in for high speed Internet access, and, when yes, identifies a particular guest area of the hospitality establishment according to details in its login record. One of the media devices accessible from within the particular guest area is selected and paired with the mobile device without requiring a user of the mobile device to input into the mobile device a connect code of the selected media device. In another example, a user initiates a codeless pairing mode on a particular one of the media devices and begins interacting with the media server utilizing an unpaired mobile device. Since, only one media device can be in that mode at a time, the media server pairs the newly detected unpaired mobile device with the particular media device.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of logging in mobile devices operated by guests of a hospitality establishment, wherein the hospitality establishment includes a plurality of media devices, and a pairing process allows mobile devices operated by guests of the hospitality establishment to become paired with one or more of the media devices, the method comprising:

receiving, over a computer network, a request from a mobile device that is not currently authorized for Internet access, the request including an identifier of the mobile device;
querying a pairing database to determine whether the mobile device corresponding to the identifier is paired with at least one of the media devices;
and
when the mobile device is paired with at least one of the media devices, reconfiguring an access controller between a local area network at the hospitality establishment and an external computer network to allow the mobile device to access the external computer network without requiring a user of the mobile device to perform a full external computer network login process before gaining access to the external computer network.

1 more element

An apparatus for logging in mobile devices operated by guests of a hospitality establishment, wherein the hospitality establishment includes a plurality of media devices, and a pairing process allows mobile devices operated by guests of the hospitality establishment to become paired with one or more of the media devices, the apparatus comprising:

a network interface coupled to a computer network available at the hospitality establishment;
a storage device storing a login database including login records for one or more mobile devices that have been logged in for external computer network access from the hospitality establishment;
and
one or more processors coupled to the network interface and the storage device;
wherein, by the one or more processors executing a plurality of instructions loaded from a storage medium, the one or more processors are configured to:
receive, over the computer network, a request from a mobile device that is not currently authorized for external computer network access, the request including an identifier of the mobile device;
query a pairing database to determine whether the mobile device corresponding to the identifier is paired with at least one of the media devices;
and
when the mobile device is paired with at least one of the media devices, reconfigure an access controller between a local area network at the hospitality establishment and an external computer network to allow the mobile device to access the external computer network without requiring a user of the mobile device to perform a full external computer network login process before gaining access to the external computer network.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Leveraging media device pairing to simplify granting mobile device access to external network

Life of this patent

Leveraging media device pairing to simplify granting mobile device access to external network

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20