WO2013022213A1

WO2013022213A1 - Terminal device and access point access method of the terminal device

Info

Publication number: WO2013022213A1
Application number: PCT/KR2012/006130
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kwangwoo Lee; Sungkeun Lee; Euntack KIM
Original assignee: Ahnlab Inc
Current assignee: Ahnlab Inc
Priority date: 2011-08-09
Filing date: 2012-08-01
Publication date: 2013-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 2014-02-09
Also published as: KR101338001B1; KR20130016912A

Abstract

Disclosed are a terminal device and an AP access method of the terminal device. In the method, the terminal device receives an inside AP list from an AP management server, collects an accessible AP list, and then compares the inside AP list with the accessible AP list, so as to determine whether there is an overlap AP between the two lists. When it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the two lists, the terminal device decides that the terminal device is located within a company or a predetermined area, so that it is possible to determine whether the terminal device is located within or out of a company.

Description

TERMINAL DEVICE AND ACCESS POINT ACCESS METHOD OF THE TERMINAL DEVICE

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a technology of detecting a position of a terminal device to control an access of the terminal device to an access point.

Recently, with the increase in usage of mobile devices, such as a smart phone or a tablet personal computer, active researches are being conducted on technologies of properly controlling such mobile devices.

Especially, in relation to the security of companies, researches are being conducted on a technology of applying different policies related to the use of a mobile device according to whether the mobile device is located within or out of a company.

As an example of determination of a policy related to the use of a mobile device based on the location of a mobile device as described above, there is a technology performing a control of an access of a mobile device to an Access Point (hereinafter, referred to as “AP”) within a company.

Such an access control technology corresponds to a technology capable of maintaining the security of a company by allowing a mobile device to access only an approved AP within a company.

In order to allow a mobile device to access only an approved AP within a company as described above, it is first required to be capable of determining whether the mobile device is located within or out of the company.

Usually, a Global Positioning System (hereinafter, referred to as “GPS”) or base station information has been used in order to detect the position of a mobile device. However, in the method using a GPS, it is required to preliminarily obtain GPS coordinates of an inside area of a company in order to determine whether coordinates of a mobile device correspond to the inside area of the company, even after the coordinates of the mobile device are obtained. Further, the method using base station information has too broad a cell coverage and is thus inappropriate for the determination on whether a mobile device is located within or out of a company.

Therefore, there has been a necessity for researches of a control method, which can determine whether a mobile device is located within or out of a company, and can allow the mobile device to access only an approved AP when the mobile device is located within the company.

Embodiments of the present invention are to provide a technology in which a terminal device receives an inside AP list from an AP management server, collects an accessible AP list, and then compares the inside AP list with the accessible AP list, so as to determine whether there is an overlap AP between the two lists. In the technology, when it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the two lists, the terminal device decides that the terminal device is located within a company or a predetermined area, so that it is possible to determine whether the terminal device is located within or out of a company (predetermined area).

Also, embodiments of the present invention are to provide a technology in which, if it is determined that the terminal device is located within a company or a predetermined area, only when the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list, the access controller allows the terminal device to access an access target AP, which the terminal device 110 wants to access, so as to make it possible to guarantee the security within the company or the predetermined area.

Moreover, embodiments of the present invention are to provide a technology in which, when the terminal device is located within the company or the predetermined area, the terminal device can help the AP management server to obtain an exact location within the company or the predetermined area by transmitting AP information of an AP having a strong signal intensity and signal intensity information of the AP to the AP management server.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device including: a list receiver for receiving an inside AP list including a plurality of APs located within a predetermined area; a list collector for collecting an accessible AP list including a plurality of accessible APs based on a current location of the terminal device; and a location determiner for comparing the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether the terminal device is located within the predetermined area.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of accessing an Access Point (AP) by a terminal device, including: receiving an inside AP list including a plurality of APs located within a predetermined area from an Access Point (AP) management server; collecting an accessible AP list including a plurality of accessible APs based on a current location of the terminal device; and comparing the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether the terminal device is located within the predetermined area.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a terminal device receives an inside AP list from an AP management server, collects an accessible AP list, and then compares the inside AP list with the accessible AP list, so as to determine whether there is an overlap AP between the two lists. In the technology, when it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the two lists, the terminal device decides that the terminal device is located within a company or a predetermined area, so that it is possible to determine whether the terminal device is located within or out of a company (predetermined area).

Further, according to the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that the terminal device is located within a company or a predetermined area, the access controller allows the terminal device to access an access target AP, which the terminal device 110 wants to access, only when the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list. As a result, it is possible to guarantee the security within the company or the predetermined area.

In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, when the terminal device is located within the company or the predetermined area, the terminal device can help the AP management server to obtain an exact location within the company or the predetermined area by transmitting AP information of an AP having a strong signal intensity and signal intensity information of the AP to the AP management server.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of accessing an access point (AP) by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention may be variously changed and may have various embodiments, among which specific embodiments will be exemplified in the accompanying drawings and described below in detail. However, it is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, and it shall be appreciated that all the changes, equivalents and substitutions belonging to the idea and technical scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. When referring to the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar components.

If it is described that a component is “connected to” or “coupled to” another component, it shall be understood that a third component may exist between the components although the firstly referred-to component may be directly connected or coupled to the another embodiment. However, if it is described that a component is “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another component, it shall be understood that no other component exists between the components.

As used herein, terms are used merely for describing specific embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular terms cover plural components unless the singular terms have apparently different meaning contextually. In this application, terms, such as “comprise” or “have,” shall be understood that they are used merely for designating that corresponding features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts or the combinations thereof may exist, but not excluding in advance the possibility of existence or addition of the features, the numbers, the steps, the actions, the components, the parts or the combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all the terms including technical or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those understood generally by a person having an ordinary skill in the art. The terms having the same meaning as those defined in generally used dictionaries shall be construed to have the meaning conforming to the contextual meaning of the related technologies, and shall not be construed as ideal or excessively formal meaning unless the terms are apparently defined in this application.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a terminal device 110 and an access point (AP) management server 120.

The terminal device 110 has a concept generally indicating a microprocessor based terminal device, such as a mobile communication terminal, a smart phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a notebook.

The terminal device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a list receiver 111, a list collector 112, and a location determiner 113.

First, the AP management server 120 may manage an inside AP list including a plurality of APs located within a company or a predetermined area.

The list receiver 111 receives the inside AP list, which includes the plurality of APs located within a company or a predetermined area, from the AP management server 120.

The list collector 112 collects an accessible AP list including a plurality of accessible APs based on the current location of the terminal device 110.

The location determiner 113 compares the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether the terminal device 110 is located within or out of a company (a predetermined area).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the location determiner 113 may include an overlap determiner 114 and a location decider 115.

The overlap determiner 114 determines whether there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list.

When it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list, the location decider 115 decides that the terminal device 110 is located within a company or a predetermined area.

Hereinafter, an example of determining a location of the terminal device 110 as described above will be described in detail.

First, it is assumed that a plurality of APs located within a company or a predetermined area are AP1, AP2, and AP3.

The AP management server 120 manages the inside AP list including AP1, AP2, and AP3 and may transmit the inside AP list to the terminal device 110.

Then, the list receiver 111 receives the inside AP list from the AP management server 120.

Further, the list collector 112 collects an accessible AP list including accessible APs based on the current location of the terminal device 110.

Based on an assumption that the accessible APs are AP1 and AP7, the list collector 112 may collect an accessible AP list including AP1 and AP7.

Thereafter, the overlap determiner 114 compares the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether there is an overlap AP between the two lists.

When it has been determined that there is an overlap AP between the two lists, the location decider 115 may decide that the terminal device 110 is located within a company or a predetermined area.

In the present embodiment, since AP1 is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list, the location decider 115 may decide that the terminal device 110 is located within the company or the predetermined area.

However, when it has been determined that there is no overlap AP between the two lists, the location decider 115 may decide that the terminal device 110 is not located within a company or a predetermined area.

In other words, the terminal device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives an inside AP list from the AP management server 120, collects an accessible AP list, and then compares the inside AP list with the accessible AP list, so as to determine whether there is an overlap AP between the two lists. When it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the two lists, the terminal device 110 may decide that the terminal device 110 is located within a company or a predetermined area. As a result, it is possible to determine whether the terminal device 110 is located within or out of a company (predetermined area).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device 110 may further include an AP determiner 116 and an access controller 117.

When it is determined that the terminal device 110 is located within a company or a predetermined area, the AP determiner 116 determines whether an access target AP, which the terminal device 110 wants to access, is an AP included in the inside AP list.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the AP determiner 116 may extract a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the access target AP, and may then determine, based on the extracted SSID and MAC address, whether the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list.

When it has been determined that the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list, the access controller 117 may allow the terminal device 110 to access the access target AP.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when it has been determined that the access target AP is an AP which is not included in the inside AP list, the access controller 117 may block the access of the terminal device 110 to the access target AP.

In conclusion, when it has been determined that a terminal device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention is located within a company or a predetermined area, the terminal device 110 is allowed to access an access target AP only when the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list. As a result, it is possible to guarantee the security within the company or the predetermined area.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device 110 may further include an AP selector 118 and an information transmitter 119.

When it has been determined that the terminal device 110 is located within a company or a predetermined area, the AP selector 118 selects two or more APs in an order of signal intensities received by the terminal device 110 starting with the largest intensity based on the current location of the terminal device 110 among the multiple APs included in the inside AP list.

The information transmitter 119 transmits signal intensity information of the selected APs and AP information of the selected APs to the AP management server 120.

Then, the AP management server 120 can calculate the current location of the terminal device 110 based on the received signal intensity information and the AP information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the AP management server 120 manages a database, which stores location information of multiple APs included in the inside AP list, a signal intensity of an AP received at a predetermined location, and distance information between the AP and the predetermined location according to the signal intensity. Further, when receiving the signal intensity information and the AP information from the terminal device 110, the AP management server 120 can calculate the locations of the selected APs and the distances between the selected APs and the terminal device 110 based on the database, and then calculate the current location of the terminal device 110.

Hereinafter, a process of calculating the current location of the terminal device 110 will be described in more detail using an example.

First, the AP management server 120 may manage a database storing location information of multiple APs located within a company or a predetermined area.

Here, the database may store an intensity of a signal of an AP received at a selected location and information of a distance between the AP and the selected location according to the intensity of the signal.

For example, if an intensity of a signal of an AP received at a selected location is -95 dBm when a distance between the AP and the selected location is about 10 m, the database may store -95 dBm and 10 m in a manner matching them to each other.

When the location determiner 113 has determined that the terminal device 110 is located within a company or a predetermined area, the AP selector 118 may select two or more APs in an order of signal intensities received by the terminal device 110 starting with the largest intensity based on the current location of the terminal device 110 among the multiple APs included in the inside AP list.

For example, if the multiple APs are AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP4 and an order of the larger signal intensities is AP1, AP2, and AP4 based on the current location of the terminal device 110, the AP selector 118 may select AP1, AP2, and AP4.

Thereafter, the information transmitter 119 may transmit signal intensity information of the selected AP1, AP2, and AP4 and AP information of the selected AP1, AP2, and AP4 to the AP management server 120.

Then, with reference to the database and based on the AP information of the selected AP1, AP2, and AP4 received from the terminal device 110, the AP management server 120 can obtain the locations of AP1, AP2, and AP4. Also, with reference to the database and based on the signal intensity information of the AP1, AP2, and AP4 received from the terminal device 110, the AP management server 120 can obtain the distance information between the terminal device 110 and AP1, AP2, and AP4.

Thereafter, based on the obtained locations of AP1, AP2, and AP4 and the obtained distance information between the terminal device 110 and AP1, AP2, and AP4, the AP management server 120 may calculate the current location of the terminal device 110.

In this event, since the AP management server 120 has the locations of AP1, AP2, and AP4 and the distance information between the terminal device 110 and AP1, AP2, and AP4, the AP management server 120 may calculate the current location of the terminal device 110 by using the triangulation method.

In conclusion, a terminal device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention not only can determine whether the terminal device 110 is located within or out of a company (or a predetermined area), but also can help the AP management server 120 to obtain an exact location within the company or the predetermined area by transmitting AP information of an AP having a strong signal intensity and signal intensity information of the AP to the AP management server 120 when the terminal device 110 is located within the company or the predetermined area.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of accessing an AP by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S210, the terminal device receives an inside AP list, which includes a plurality of APs located within a company or a predetermined area, from an AP management server.

In step S220, the terminal device collects an accessible AP list including accessible APs based on a current location of the terminal device.

In step S230, the terminal device compares the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether the terminal device is located within the company or the predetermined area.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, step S230 may include a step of determining whether there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list and a step of deciding that the terminal device is located within the company (or the predetermined area) when it has been determined that there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list.

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when it has been determined that the terminal device is located within the company (or the predetermined area), the method of accessing an AP by a terminal may further include: a step of determining whether an access target AP, which the terminal device wants to access, is an AP included in the inside AP list; and a step of allowing the terminal device to access the access target AP when it has been determined that the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list.

Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when it has been determined that the access target AP is an AP which is not included in the inside AP list, the method of accessing an AP by a terminal may further include a step of blocking the access of the terminal device to the access target AP.

Also, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of determining whether an access target AP, which the terminal device wants to access, is an AP included in the inside AP list may include a step of extracting a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the access target AP, and then determining, based on the extracted SSID and MAC address, whether the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list.

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when it has been determined that the terminal device is located within the company (or the predetermined area), the method of accessing an AP by a terminal may further include: a step of selecting two or more APs in an order of signal intensities received by the terminal device starting with the largest intensity based on the current location of the terminal device among the multiple APs included in the inside AP list; and a step of transmitting signal intensity information of the selected APs and AP information of the selected APs to the AP management server.

In this event, the AP management server may calculate the current location of the terminal device based on the received signal intensity information and the received AP information.

Also, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the AP management server manages a database, which stores location information of multiple APs included in the inside AP list, a signal intensity of an AP received at a predetermined location, and distance information between the AP and the predetermined location according to the signal intensity. Further, when receiving the signal intensity information and the AP information from the terminal device, the AP management server can calculate the locations of the selected APs and the distances between the selected APs and the terminal device based on the database, and then calculate the current location of the terminal device.

The above description with reference to FIG. 2 discussed an AP access method of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Now, a more detailed description of the AP access method of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be omitted since it corresponds to the construction of the terminal device 110 described above with reference to FIG. 1.

An AP access method of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program commands executable by various computer means and may be recorded in a computer-readable media. The computer-readable media may include program commands, data files, data structures, etc. either each alone or in combination thereof. The program commands recorded in the media may be either specially designed or constructed for the present invention or publicly available by one skilled in the art. By way of example, without limitation, such a computer-readable media may include magnetic media, such as a hard disc, a floppy disc, and a magnetic tape, optical media, such as a CD-ROM and a DVD, magneto-optical media, such as a floptical disc, and hardware devices specially constructed to store and execute programs, such as a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory. Examples of the program commands include not only machine codes made by a compiler but also high class language codes executable by a computer using an interpreter. The hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules in order to perform the operation of the present invention, and vice versa.

While the invention has been described in connection with specific materials and specified embodiments and drawings for helping the general understanding of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to those embodiments described above and one skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications from the description.

Therefore, the idea of the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments described above, the claims described below and everything equivalent to or having equivalent modifications belong to the scope of the idea of the present invention.

Claims

A terminal device comprising:

a list receiver for receiving an inside AP list including a plurality of APs located within a predetermined area;

a list collector for collecting an accessible AP list including a plurality of accessible APs based on a current location of the terminal device; and

a location determiner for comparing the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether the terminal device is located within the predetermined area.
The terminal device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location determiner comprises:

an overlap determiner for determining whether there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list;

an location decider for, when it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list, deciding that the terminal device is located within the predetermined area.
The terminal device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an AP determiner for, when it is determined that the terminal device is located within the predetermined area, determining whether an access target AP, which the terminal device wants to access, is an AP included in the inside AP list; and

an access controller for, when it is determined that the access target AP is the AP included in the inside the AP list, allowing the terminal device to access the access target AP.
The terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, when it has been determined that the access target AP is an AP which is not included in the inside AP list, the access controller blocks an access of the terminal device to the access target AP.
The terminal device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the AP determiner extracts a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the access target AP, and then determines, based on the extracted SSID and MAC address, whether the access target AP is the AP included in the inside AP list.
The terminal device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an AP selector for, when it has been determined that the terminal device is located within the predetermined area, selecting two or more APs in an order of signal intensities received by the terminal device starting with a largest intensity on the current location of the terminal device among multiple APs included in the inside AP list; and

an information transmitter for transmitting signal intensity information and AP information of the selected APs to the AP management server,

wherein the AP management server calculates the current location of the terminal device based on the received signal intensity information and the received AP information.
The terminal device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the AP management server manages a database, which stores location information of the multiple APs included in the inside AP list, a signal intensity of an AP received at a predetermined location, and distance information between the AP and the predetermined location according to the signal intensity; and

when receiving the signal intensity information and the AP information from the terminal device, the AP management server calculates locations of the selected APs and distances between the selected APs and the terminal device based on the database, and then calculate the current location of the terminal device.
A method of accessing an Access Point (AP) by a terminal device, comprising:

receiving an inside AP list including a plurality of APs located within a predetermined area from an Access Point (AP) management server;

collecting an accessible AP list including a plurality of accessible APs based on a current location of the terminal device; and

comparing the inside AP list and the accessible AP list with each other, so as to determine whether the terminal device is located within the predetermined area.
The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein determining of whether the terminal device is located within the predetermined area comprises:

determining whether there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list;

when it is determined that there is an overlap AP between the inside AP list and the accessible AP list, deciding that the terminal device is located within a predetermined area.
The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

when it is determined that the terminal device is located within a predetermined area, determining whether an access target AP, which the terminal device wants to access, is an AP included in the inside AP list; and

when it is determined that the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list, allowing the terminal device to access the access target AP.
The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein, when it has been determined that the access target AP is an AP which is not included in the inside AP list, the access controller blocks an access of the terminal device to the access target AP.
The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein determining of whether the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list comprises:

extracting a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the access target AP; and

determining, based on the extracted SSID and MAC address, whether the access target AP is an AP included in the inside AP list.
The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

when it has been determined that the terminal device is located within the predetermined area, selecting two or more APs in an order of signal intensities received by the terminal device starting with a largest intensity based on the current location of the terminal device among multiple APs included in the inside AP list; and

transmitting signal intensity information of the selected APs and AP information of the selected APs to the AP management server,

wherein the AP management server calculates the current location of the terminal device based on the received signal intensity information and the received AP information.
The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the AP management server manages a database, which stores location information of the multiple APs included in the inside AP list, a signal intensity of an AP received at a predetermined location, and distance information between the AP and the predetermined location according to the signal intensity; and

when receiving the signal intensity information and the AP information from the terminal device, the AP management server calculates locations of the selected APs and distances between the selected APs and the terminal device based on the database, and then calculate the current location of the terminal device.
A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method as claimed in any of claims 8 to 14 is recorded.