Television sign on for personalization in a multi-user environment

Abstract

Systems and methods according to the present invention provide sign on systems for devices, e.g., televisions, which balance ease of use with security and access control that is amenable to, e.g., household usage.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for controlling access to content, the method comprising:
 associating, by a network entity, a single subscription for a service to a group of users to use the service, each of the users in the group having a user profile;   receiving, by the network entity, a request to access the service by a respective user of the group;   identifying the respective user via one or more identification procedures; and   controlling access to content of the service based on the user profile associated with the identified user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identifying of the respective user includes:
 receiving information including any of: (1) a personal identification number (PIN) code, (2) gesture information indicating characteristics associated with a gesture made by the respective user, (3) tremor information indicating characteristics associated with a tremor made by the respective user, or (4) visual information indicating visual characteristics of the respective user; and   determining an identity of the respective user based on the received information.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controlling of the access to content of the service based on the user profile associated with the identified user includes providing parameters to control access to one or applications associated with the service. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first user of the group associated with the single subscription has automatic access to a first set of features or applications associated with the service and a second user of the group associated with the single subscription has automatic access to a second, different set of features or applications associated with the service. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the first and second users are family members with respectively different content access capabilities associated with the service based on access criteria. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 comparing a ratings level of an application to a ratings level associated with the respective user, as a comparison result; and   determining whether or not to block access to content based on the comparison result.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the service is any of: (1) a transaction service, (2) an online service; (3) a video-on demand service; or (4) a content delivery service. 
     
     
         8 . A network entity for controlling access to content, comprising:
 a processor configured to associate a single subscription for a service to a group of users to use the service, each of the users in the group having a user profile;   a receiver configured to receive a request to access the service by a respective user of the group;   wherein the processor is configured to:
 identify the respective user via one or more identification procedures; and 
 control access to content of the service based on the user profile associated with the identified user. 
   
     
     
         9 . The network entity of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the receiver is configured to receive information including any of: (1) a personal identification number (PIN) code, (2) gesture information indicating characteristics associated with a gesture made by the respective user, (3) tremor information indicating characteristics associated with a tremor made by the respective user, or (4) visual information indicating visual characteristics of the respective user; and   the processor is configured to determine an identity of the respective user based on the received information.   
     
     
         10 . The network entity of  claim 8 , further comprising a transmitter configured to provide parameters to control access to one or more applications associated with the service. 
     
     
         11 . The network entity of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to control access to a first set of features or applications associated with the single subscription by a first user and to a second, different set of features or applications associated with the single subscription by a second user, each of the first and second sets of features or applications being determined based on the identity of the respective user. 
     
     
         12 . The network entity of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second users are family members with respectively different content access capabilities associated with the service based on access criteria. 
     
     
         13 . The network entity of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to control access to the first and second sets of applications by:
 comparing a ratings level of a respective application to a ratings level associated with the respective use, as a comparison result; and   determining whether or not to block access to content based on the comparison result.   
     
     
         14 . The network entity of  claim 8 , wherein the service is any of: (1) a transaction service, (2) an online service; (3) a video-on demand service; or (4) a content delivery service.