KR100805311B1 - Integrated authentication method and system for a limit subscriber - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for providing integrated authentication for a limit subscriber is disclosed. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, receiving the initial authentication request from the user terminal and transmits the result of processing the received initial authentication request from the user terminal, provided by the communication service provider from the telecommunications operator device through the user terminal The authentication request for the communication service is received, the received authentication request is processed, the usage limit information of the user terminal is read, and the authentication request processing result and the usage limit information of the user terminal are transmitted to the communication service provider device. According to the present invention, there is an advantage in that communication related services provided by other communication service providers can be used without subscribing to other communication service providers.

Authentication, account, limit, integration, communication service

Description

Integrated authentication method and system for a limit subscriber}

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an integrated authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an integrated authentication system according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram showing the configuration of an integrated authentication server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing the order in which authentication is performed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system for providing authentication information to a service provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for providing authentication information to a service provider according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing integrated authentication of a limit subscriber, and more particularly, to a method and system for allowing a limit subscriber to receive a plurality of services without authentication with only one authentication.

Limit subscribers are generally charged according to the usage of the communication service, and when the use is over a certain amount, the subscriber is no longer provided so that the charge of the communication service that can be charged to the maximum is kept constant. The subscriber who requested the communication service.

With the recent development of mobile communication and various wired and wireless communication, it is generally provided by a user's request in order to limit the use of indiscriminate communication services.

Limit subscriptions are the same as prepaid subscriptions in that the maximum available communication service charges are set, but prepaid subscriptions allow you to pay a certain amount in advance and receive the communication service until the amount is exhausted. Is freely provided with telecommunications services within the limits set, and then it is common to pay for the actual use of telecommunications services.

The present invention relates to a method and system for providing an integrated authentication service among subscribers of such communication services, in particular for limit subscribers.

In particular, when the existing telecommunication service provider provides telecommunication services, it is common to provide services only to its subscribers. For example, the existing mobile telecommunication carriers provided mobile communication services only to their subscribers, requiring subscriber or user own terminal or separate authentication. Therefore, since a communication service is different for each communication service provider from a user's point of view, there is a problem that it is impossible to use such communication-related services without subscribing to a third party even if a user wants to use a communication-related service provided by a third party.

In addition, even if the services of other companies are available, billing is performed on the used services afterwards, so no charges are calculated in real time. There is a problem that cannot be determined.

In order to solve the conventional problems as described above, the present invention proposes an integrated authentication method and system that can use the communication-related services provided by other communication service providers without subscribing to other communication service providers.

In addition, it is possible to use the services of other companies as well as the instant calculation of the services used, so that even the limited subscriber can use the integrated authentication method and system to determine the actual amount used and the availability and extent of the service. I would suggest.

Still other objects of the present invention will be readily understood through the following description of the embodiments.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing authentication of a limit subscriber.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing an authentication of a limiting subscriber in a limiting subscriber communication service authentication system including a user terminal, an integrated authentication device, and a service provider device, comprising: (A) receiving an initial authentication request and transmitting a result of processing the received initial authentication request from the user terminal; (B) receiving an authentication request for a communication service provided by the service provider from the service provider device through the user terminal; (C) processing the received authentication request and reading usage limit information of the user terminal; And (d) transmitting the authentication request processing result and the usage limit information of the user terminal to the telecommunication service provider device.

The usage limit information may be at least one of use time or use amount information of a service provided by the communication service provider.

The communication service provided by the communication provider may be provided by at least one method of wired or wireless.

The communication service provider device may limit the communication service according to the received usage limit information of the user terminal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium recording a method for providing authentication of a limit subscriber.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a program of instructions capable of providing authentication of a limiting subscriber in a limiting subscriber's communication service authentication system including a user terminal, an integrated authentication server and a communication service provider server is tangibly implemented. (A) receiving an initial authentication request from the user terminal and transmitting a result of processing the received initial authentication request from the user terminal in a recording medium recording a program that can be read by the integrated authentication server; ; (B) receiving an authentication request for a communication service provided by the service provider from the service provider device through the user terminal; (C) processing the received authentication request and reading usage limit information of the user terminal; And (d) transmitting the authentication request processing result and the usage limit information of the user terminal to the communication service provider device.

The usage limit information may be at least one of use time or use amount information of a service provided by the communication service provider.

The communication service provided by the communication provider may be provided by at least one method of wired or wireless.

The communication service provider device may limit the communication service according to the received usage limit information of the user terminal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for providing communication service authentication of a limit subscriber is provided.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for providing a communication service authentication of a limit subscriber, the authentication processing unit for processing the authentication request received from the user terminal and the authentication request received from another communication provider device through the user terminal ; And a limit information processor configured to read the limit information of the user who requested the authentication.

The limit information processor may calculate at least one of a use time or a use amount of the communication service according to the read limit information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for providing communication service authentication of a limit subscriber is provided.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a user terminal connecting to a communication network provided by a communication provider and transmitting an authentication request; An integrated authentication device which processes an authentication request received from the user terminal and transmits the authentication request to a user terminal and a communication service provider device; And a communication service provider device receiving a communication service providing request from the user terminal and transmitting an authentication request according to the communication service providing request to the user terminal to receive an authentication processing result from the integrated authentication device. A service authentication system is provided.

The integrated authentication device may read the usage limit information of the user terminal, and calculate at least one of the use time or the use amount of the communication service according to the read limit information.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, the same reference numerals will be used for the same means regardless of the reference numerals in order to facilitate the overall understanding.

First, a system for performing integrated authentication according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an integrated authentication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an integrated authentication system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The integrated authentication apparatus according to the present invention may be operated as one or independently for each service provider regardless of the number of service providers.

1 illustrates a case in which the integrated authentication device is operated as one regardless of the number of service providers, and FIG. 2 illustrates a case in which the integrated authentication device is operated by each service provider and included in each communication service provider's communication system. .

First, referring to FIG. 1, a configuration of an integrated authentication system when the integrated authentication device is operated as one will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, an integrated authentication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a user terminal 100, an integrated authentication device 120, and a telecommunication service provider device 130a, 130b, 130c.

The user terminal 100 may be connected to a communication service provider device for each service provider through the communication network 130, and the communication service provider device 130 may also be connected to the integrated authentication device 120 through the communication network 110.

The user terminal 100 is a terminal device that accesses a communication network 110 of a communication service provider to which a user subscribes and uses communication services such as voice call, text message, and the Internet.

The user terminal 100 may have a communication function and may be connected to the communication network 110. If the device receives a communication service such as a voice call, a text message, or the Internet, there is no limitation.

The user terminal 100 may be, for example, a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, or the like.

In FIG. 1, a single communication network 110 is briefly expressed. However, the communication network includes a plurality of communication networks 110 operated by respective communication providers, and each communication network 110 may be connected to each other.

The user terminal 100 is connected to the communication service provider device 130 through the communication network 110, the communication network 130 includes not only the mobile communication network and the Internet, but also the Internet exists in the TCP / IP protocol and its upper layer. Many services, such as HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Domain Name System (DNS), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Network File Service (NFS), etc. It includes all of the world's open network architectures.

In addition, a mobile communication network may include an access gateway that enables transmission and reception of wireless packet data in addition to a base station (BS), a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO), and a home location register (HLR). It further includes components such as a gateway, a packet data serving node (PDSN), and the like.

The authentication request is received from the user terminal 100 and transmitted to the integrated authentication device 120 through the communication service provider device 130 through the communication network 110 of the service provider.

In the present specification, the integrated authentication device 120 or the service provider device 130 may be referred to, but the device includes a server in which a program for performing a specific task in the communication network 110 is installed.

The integrated authentication device 120 processes the received authentication request of the user and transmits the result of the processed authentication request back to the user terminal 100 through the communication service provider network 110 via the communication service provider device 130.

When one integrated authentication device 120 is operated regardless of the number of communication providers, the integrated authentication device 120 may process various authentication requests received by each service provider.

First, the integrated authentication device 120 stores all the authentication information of the user of each communication provider in a database (not shown) of the integrated authentication device 120, and when the user requests authentication using the user terminal 100, the stored authentication The authentication request can be processed according to the information. In this case, for example, if there are three mobile communication companies of A telecom, B telecom, and C telecom, subscriber information of all three A, B, and C mobile carriers is stored in the database of the integrated authentication device 120. In other words, a database for storing subscriber information, that is, user information, of each carrier is shared.

When a user of A Telecom requests a user authentication, the user authentication request transmitted to the integrated authentication device 120 through the communication network 110 including the telecom service provider device is searched and processed by the database of the integrated authentication device 120. It is.

Alternatively, a database for storing user information exists for each service provider, and the integrated authentication device 120 may access the database through the communication network 110 including the service provider device 130 and perform only an authentication request processing. .

Meanwhile, in FIG. 1, there may be a plurality of service provider devices 130a, 130b, and 130c according to the number of communication service providers provided.

As described above, when the service use request is received from the user terminal 100, the communication service provider device 130 transmits an authentication request to the user terminal 100 and receives an authentication processing result from the integrated authentication device 120.

Referring to FIG. 2, the integrated authentication system 120 will be described with reference to the integrated authentication system when the integrated authentication device 120 is included in a communication service provider system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a case in which the integrated authentication device 120 is operated by a communication operator and included in a communication system of a communication service provider. The integrated authentication device 120 of FIG. 1 is operated by a separate entity different from a communication service provider. Based on the difference from the case.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the integrated authentication system according to another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of service providers exist and each service provider operates the integrated authentication devices 120a, 120b, and 120c, respectively. The integrated authentication device 120 in their communication system.

That is, for example, each communication provider such as A telecom, B telecom, C telecom, etc. provides the integrated authentication device 120, and the authentication request processing of the user who subscribed to the A telecom is performed by the integrated authentication device 120 of the A telecom. Is processed. If a user wants to use a communication service provided by B telecom, the integrated authentication device 120 of A Telecom provides user authentication processing information to the communication service provider device 130 of B telecom through the communication network 110. .

Therefore, unlike the case of operating as one regardless of the number of communication operators described above, each communication provider includes an integrated authentication device 120 for performing user authentication and providing the authentication processing results to other service providers.

When the integrated authentication device 120 is operated as one regardless of the number of communication operators, there is an advantage that the user can process relatively quickly when an authentication request is made to use a communication service of another operator.

On the other hand, when the integrated authentication device 120 is operated for each communication service provider, the initial authentication request of the user can be relatively quickly processed.

In the integrated authentication system having such a configuration, a configuration of the integrated authentication processing device 120 that performs the integrated authentication processing of the user for each communication provider will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the integrated authentication device 120 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include an authentication processing unit 200 and a limit information processing unit 210.

The authentication processor 200 processes the user authentication requested through the user terminal 100. Authentication is generally defined as the public body demonstrating that any act or document has been duly established. In the present invention, the communication service user refers to authenticating a communication service subscriber who is authorized to use the communication service.

Therefore, the authentication process performed by the authentication processing unit 200 is to publicly verify whether or not the user or the user terminal 100 has access to the communication service connected to the user.

Authentication can be handled in various ways. For example, a general method such as input of a user ID and password, or in the case of a mobile communication terminal, is performed by a subscriber module installed inside the mobile communication terminal. There may be a way to confirm that you have subscribed to the service.

This confirmation procedure may be performed by comparing user information or authentication information previously stored in a specific database, and the authentication information input to the authentication processing apparatus and the information previously stored in the database.

It is apparent that the authentication processing method is not limited to the above method and may be included in the authentication processing method as long as it is determined whether the user or the user terminal 100 has the authority to use the connected communication service. .

The limit information processing unit 210 calculates an available time of a service that the user wants to use according to the limit information subscribed to by the authenticated user, and transmits the available time to a service provider server connected to another service provider device or another service provider device.

The limit information processing unit 210 may calculate a service time available directly according to the limit information of the user and transmit the service time to a communication system or a service providing device of another communication service provider.

In addition, it is possible to transmit the limit information of the user to the communication system or service providing apparatus of another communication provider and to provide a limited communication service according to the limit information transmitted from the communication system or service providing server of another communication provider.

For example, suppose that a user is an A Telecom subscriber who sets a monthly limit of 50,000 won and subscribes to a telecom mobile communication service.

If a user wants to use a service provided by B telecom other than A telecom, the B telecom communication system (more specifically, the device constituting the A telecom communication system) is provided by providing the limit information of A telecom to B telecom. The user can use the service to be used within the limit.

In addition, if the communication system of A Telecom receives the billing information of the corresponding service from B Telecom in advance or requests the user to use the service, B Telecom calculates the available time of the service according to the user's limit information and the usage fee and B Can be provided to telecom. B Telecom provides a specific service only for a certain time according to the time information received, and provides the use time information to A Telecom when the service is used within the limit.

A telecom updates the limit information by subtracting the service usage fee from the limit information according to the use time information.

Therefore, the integrated authentication device 120 according to the present invention processes an authentication request for using a service provided by another communication service provider and an initial authentication request received from the user terminal 100, and also provides the user's limit information to another communication service provider. The service time available to the user according to the device 130 or the limit information is transmitted to the other service provider device 130.

Therefore, the limit subscriber does not need to separately authenticate the other carrier even when using the service of the other carrier, and may use the communication service within the limit of his subscription even when using the service of the other carrier.

With reference to the configuration of the integrated authentication system for limit subscribers and the integrated authentication device 120 for processing integrated authentication and limit information according to the present invention looks at the order in which the authentication according to the present invention is performed.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence in which authentication is performed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the user makes an initial authentication request through the user terminal 100, an initial authentication request is transmitted to the integrated authentication device 120 through the communication network 110 of the telecommunication service provider to which the user subscribes (S400). ).

The integrated authentication apparatus 120 processes the received initial authentication request (S402), and transmits the processed initial authentication request processing result to the user terminal 100 (S404).

As described above, the initial authentication request may be processed by, for example, inputting a user ID and password, or in the case of a mobile communication terminal, by the subscriber module installed inside the mobile communication terminal. There are a variety of ways, including how to verify that you have signed up for.

The user terminal 100 receiving the initial authentication request processing result is connected to the communication network 110 provided by the communication service provider according to the received initial authentication request processing result, and is provided by another communication service provider using the user terminal 110. Requests for provision of services are made to the other communication service device 130 (S406).

The communication service provider device 130 requests authentication information from the user terminal 100 according to the service provision request of the user terminal 100 (S408).

The user terminal 100 receiving the authentication information request from the other service provider device 130 receives the authentication information request through the communication network 110 of the communication service provider to which the user subscribed as in the initial authentication request step. (S410).

The authentication request further includes an initial authentication request and identification information of the user terminal 100 and is transmitted to the integrated authentication device 120.

The integrated authentication device 120 reads the limit information of the user from the database according to the identification information of the user terminal 100 and processes the authentication request (S412).

In the processing of the authentication request, unlike the initial authentication processing request, the authentication request processing result and the read limit information are transmitted to the communication service provider device 130 using the initial authentication processing information using the identification information of the user terminal 100. (S414).

Restricting the user's use of the service according to the limit information of the user who is the limit subscriber may calculate the service time available directly according to the limit information of the user and transmit the service time to another communication service provider device 130.

Meanwhile, since the authentication information of the user is directly transmitted to the communication service provider device 130 using the initial authentication processing result, the user does not need to input authentication information through the user terminal 100 again. In addition, even when the authentication information request is received from the communication service provider device 130, it is not necessary to indicate to the user terminal 100 that the authentication information request has been received from the communication service provider device 130.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a system in which a subscriber receives a service provided by another communication service provider through authentication performed according to the configuration of the authentication system and the authentication execution order will be described.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system in which a subscriber receives a service provided by another communication service provider when the integrated authentication device 120 is operated as one regardless of the number of communication providers.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a system in which a subscriber is provided with a limit provided by a service provided by another communication service provider when the integrated authentication device 120 operates for each service provider.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, when the integrated authentication device 120 operates as one regardless of the number of communication providers, the service providing server 500 that provides various services through each communication service provider may include the integrated authentication device 120. Receive the authentication information from the) may provide a service to the user or user terminal 100 subscribed to another communication provider.

Although FIG. 5 illustrates one communication network 110, each service providing server 500 may be connected to a communication network 110 for each communication provider.

In this case, the service providing server 500 transmits an authentication request to the user terminal 100 in response to a service request from the user terminal 100, and the user terminal 100 transmits the received authentication request to the integrated authentication device 120. . The integrated authentication device 120 transmits the authentication request processing result to the service providing server 500 with respect to the received authentication request, thereby performing authentication on the user terminal 100 and joining the communication network 110 of another communication service provider. Also can be provided.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6, even if the integrated authentication device 120 is operated for each communication provider, the service providing server in the same manner as the case where the integrated authentication device 120 is operated as one regardless of the number of communication providers ( The authentication received from 500 is processed.

However, since there is an integrated authentication device 120 for each communication service provider, the authentication processing result is received from the integrated authentication device 120 operated for each communication service provider.

In the case of providing the authentication information of the other user for each communication provider and using the service of the other carrier, the service will be provided through an example in which the amount of use is provided within the limit of use of the subscriber.

First, it is assumed that there are telecommunication operators of A telecom and B telecom, and there is a service provider providing music service to A telecom and b service provider providing music service to B telecom.

If the integrated authentication is not performed, the A Telecom subscriber cannot access the music service provided by the b service provider or access the B telecom network through a separate authentication procedure from the B telecom in order to receive the music service.

In addition, if the A-telecom subscriber is a limit subscriber who sets a limit on the communication usage fee, even if the A-telecom subscriber can use the music service provided by the B telecom, the subscriber cannot be restricted even if the user receives a music service exceeding the limit.

However, in the present invention, the A-telecom subscriber can connect to the B-telecom network and perform music service provided by the B-telephone service provider if only the initial authentication is performed by accessing the A-telecom network. You can also use the music service only within the limits you set.

First, the limit subscriber of A Telecom accesses the communication network provided by A Telecom and performs initial authentication in the integrated authentication device. If the subscriber wants to receive the music service provided by B telecom instead of the music service provided by A telecom, he / she accesses the communication network provided by B telecom.

The B-telecom operator's device requests an authentication to the terminal of the limit subscriber. The limit subscriber terminal transmits the authentication request received from the communication service provider device of the B telecom to the integrated authentication device, and the integrated authentication device directly transmits the authentication information to the communication service provider device of the B telecom.

In the case of transmitting the authentication information, the limit information of the limit subscriber is transmitted together or the use time information according to the use amount of the music service provided by B Telecom is also transmitted.

 The telecommunication operator device of B telecom provides the music service to the limit subscriber according to the received authentication information, and also limits the music service providing time of the limit subscriber or the content provided according to the received limit information.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for purposes of illustration, and those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additions should be considered to be within the scope of the following claims.

As described above, the method and system for providing integrated authentication of a limit subscriber according to the present invention has an advantage of using a communication related service provided by another communication service provider without subscribing to another communication service provider.

In addition to the use of other companies' services, instant fee calculations are performed on the services used, so even in the case of limit subscribers, it is possible to efficiently use the communication service to determine the actual amount used and the availability and extent of the service. There are advantages to it.

Claims (12)

A method of providing an authentication of a limit subscriber in an integrated authentication device in a communication service authentication system of a limit subscriber including a user terminal, an integrated authentication device, and a telecommunication service provider device, (A) receiving an initial authentication request from the user terminal and transmitting a result of processing the received initial authentication request from the user terminal; (B) receiving an authentication request for a communication service provided by the communication service provider from the service provider device through the user terminal; (C) processing the received authentication request from the service provider device and reading usage limit information of the user terminal; And (D) transmitting the authentication request processing result and usage limit information of the user terminal to the telecommunication service provider device, And the communication service provider device limits and provides the communication service according to the received usage limit information of the user terminal. The method of claim 1, The usage limit information, And at least one of use time or use amount information of a service provided by the communication service provider. The method of claim 1, The communication service provided by the communication service provider, Method for providing authentication of a limit subscriber, characterized in that provided by at least one method of wired or wireless. delete In a limiting subscriber's communication service authentication system including a user terminal, an integrated authentication server, and a communication service provider server, a program of instructions for providing authentication of a limiting subscriber is tangibly implemented and can be read by the integrated authentication server. In the recording medium recording the program, (A) receiving an initial authentication request from the user terminal and transmitting a result of processing the received initial authentication request from the user terminal; (B) receiving an authentication request for a communication service provided by the communication service provider from the service provider device through the user terminal; (C) processing the received authentication request from the service provider device and reading usage limit information of the user terminal; And (D) transmitting the authentication request processing result and usage limit information of the user terminal to the telecommunication service provider device, The communication service provider device is a recording medium recording a program for implementing a method for providing authentication of a limit subscriber, characterized in that for limiting and providing the communication service according to the received usage limit information of the user terminal. The method of claim 5, The usage limit information, And a program for implementing an authentication provision method of a limit subscriber, characterized in that it is at least one of a use time or use amount information of a service provided by the communication service provider. The method of claim 5, The communication service provided by the communication service provider, A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing a method for providing authentication of a limiting subscriber, which is provided by at least one of wired and wireless methods. delete An apparatus for providing a communication service authentication of a limit subscriber, A limit information processing unit which reads out limit information of the user who has been authenticated; And Receiving an initial authentication request from the user terminal and transmitting a result of processing the received initial authentication request to the user terminal, The user terminal receives an authentication request for a communication service provided by the communication service provider from the service provider device through the user terminal, processes the received authentication request from the service provider device, and reads the limit information processor. An authentication processing unit for transmitting the usage limit information of the authentication request processing result and the communication provider device, And the communication service provider device limits and provides the communication service according to the received usage limit information of the user terminal. The method of claim 9, The limit information processing unit, And calculating at least one of a use time or a use amount of the communication service according to the read limit information. A user terminal accessing a communication network provided by a communication provider and transmitting an initial authentication request; Receives an initial authentication request from the user terminal and transmits the result of processing the received initial authentication request to the user terminal, the authentication request for the communication service provided by the communication provider from the communication operator device through the user terminal An integrated authentication device for receiving a message, processing the received authentication request from the service provider device, and transmitting usage limit information of the user terminal read by the limit information processor and the authentication request processing result to the service provider device; And Communication service authentication of a limit subscriber comprising a communication service provider device receiving a communication service providing request from the user terminal and transmitting an authentication request according to the communication service providing request to the user terminal to receive an authentication processing result from the integrated authentication device. system. The method of claim 11, The integrated authentication device, And read out the usage limit information of the user terminal and calculate at least one of the use time or the use amount of the communication service according to the read limit information.

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