BR112018075343B1 - LOCK DEVICE, LOCK SYSTEM AND PROCESSOR-IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR OPERATING A LOCK DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

A lock device including a housing; an associated shackle within the housing and having, with respect to the housing, a closed configuration and an open configuration; a latch subsystem associated with the housing for securely retaining the shackle in the closed configuration, wherein the latch subsystem is electrically operable to release the shackle; a biometric sensor associated with the housing for electronically detecting fingerprint data from a finger being detected; a control subsystem in the housing in communication with the biometric sensor and the lock subsystem, the control subsystem comprising: processor-readable internal memory configured to store one or more fingerprint records, each fingerprint record comprising fingerprint data authorized persons associated with a respective fingerprint identifier; processing structure configured to receive detected fingerprint data from the biometric sensor and to cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle in the event of a release condition that requires at least the detected fingerprint data to match the fingerprint data. authorized fingerprint in at least one of the fingerprint registers; the processing structure (...).

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED ORDER

[001] This application claims priority from US Provisional Patent Application Serial 62/348,332 filed on June 10, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[002] The embodiments described in this document relate to the field of padlocks and, in particular, padlocks that are unlocked through the use of biometric information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[003] Various padlock designs are currently available. Padlocks generally comprise a removable shackle that locks into a housing (housing) and can be removed from the housing when the housing is unlocked via a user action. Such actions that result in a padlock being unlocked may include, for example, inserting a physical key into the lock, or entering the correct combination into a combination lock.

[004] A common attribute among the lock types mentioned above is that the user is required to have knowledge (e.g. knowledge of the combination) or possession (e.g. possession of a physical key) of the unlocking means in order to unlock the padlock. It is common for a user to forget the combination to a lock or misplace the key. Likewise, the key to a lock can be stolen or the combination to a lock can be ascertained by looking over the user's shoulder as they open the lock, compromising the security and effectiveness of the lock. Furthermore, if the user of a combination lock wants to let someone else access the lock temporarily, he can provide the combination to that other person, but there is no way to force the other person to forget the combination. Likewise, if a lock owner allows a friend to borrow his key for the lock, the key may be duplicated. So, it is not possible to maintain security with third parties without compromising the lock's effectiveness at least to some degree.

[005] Conventional lock designs are also vulnerable to “shimming”, which is the slipping of additional objects into the channel that accepts the shackle, in order to release the lock that normally prevents the shackle from being withdrawn from the padlock housing .

[006] Consequently, there is a need for systems and methods to control the operation of locks that do not require the user to carry a key or memorize additional details and provide the flexibility to grant permission to other users.

[007] Fingerprint padlocks are currently available. These padlocks can be unlocked by scanning authorized fingerprints that were stored during previous setting. The define phase allows the user to scan and store fingerprints as digital information inside the locks to be used at a later time; multiple fingerprints of different users can be stored. However, when the owner decides that a user whose fingerprint has already been stored no longer has access to the lock, the owner needs to delete all fingerprint data stored inside the lock due to the fact that there is no way to identify which fingerprint it belongs to. to such user; the owner then needs to set all authorized fingerprints from the beginning. There is no way to revoke a user's access without revoking access for all users and causing great inconvenience to the owner. There is also no way to keep track of how many fingerprints have been stored.

[008] An example of a padlock device available in the prior art is described in document US2014002239. In particular, this document describes devices used to indicate the location and condition of personal objects, in which one of these possible devices may have the shape of a padlock, capable of being unlocked in response to receiving a signal from a biometric sensor, such as like a fingerprint sensor. However, the document does not describe a padlock that can be responsive to different fingerprints of different users and does not describe any methods that teach how the fingerprint records coming from the biometric sensor and used during the unlocking step of the padlock device are stored, deleted or disabled, it does not even describe how communication regarding authentication between the padlock device and an external device can be performed. In addition, the same document does not describe or suggest a padlock suitable for use, as for example, in a company, which has a list of employees who are authorized to unlock the padlock, and who may need to change it from time to time according to the employee turnover. In this way, document US2014002239 does not respond to current needs, and the object of the present invention is able to solve these issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[009] There is a need for systems and methods to manage users, their fingerprints and their accesses that allow the owner to add, delete and make changes to users, fingerprints and authorized accesses in a way that is easy, fast and effective.

[010] There is a need for users to track information associated with padlock fingerprint access and usage that includes, but is not limited to, access history, access location, and access user identity.

[011] Fingerprint padlocks require electrical components and are vulnerable to water damage. Since padlocks have strong use cases in outdoor environments where exposure to water, snow, rain and other environmental hardship is frequent, there is a strong need for systems and methods that allow the various components of fingerprint padlocks to survive these environments.

[012] Fingerprint locks and other electrical locks all require a power source, usually a battery, to function properly. There is a need for power management and systems and methods to prevent power outages and support lock functions in the event that a power outage occurs.

[013] Padlocks have security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by physically forcing the casing of the lock to open.

[014] According to an aspect, there is provided herein a padlock device comprising a housing; a shackle associated within the housing and having, with respect to the housing, a closed configuration and an open configuration; a lock subsystem associated with the housing to securely retain the shackle in the closed configuration, the lock subsystem electrically operable to release the shackle; a biometric sensor associated with the housing for electronically detecting fingerprint data from a finger that is detected; a control subsystem in the housing in communication with the biometric sensor and the lock subsystem, the control subsystem comprising: processor-readable internal memory configured to store one or more fingerprint records, each fingerprint record comprising fingerprint data authorized fingerprint associated with a respective fingerprint identifier; processing structure configured to receive detected fingerprint data from the biometric sensor and to cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle in the event of a release condition that requires at least the detected fingerprint data to match the fingerprint data authorized in at least one of the fingerprint records; the processing structure configured to present a management interface accessible by an external device in authorized communication with the control system to selectively: store one or more fingerprint records in processor-readable internal memory; and deleting or disabling one or more fingerprint records stored in the processor-readable internal memory based on at least one or more respective fingerprint identifiers provided by the external device.

[015] In one embodiment, the processing structure is configured to present the management interface accessible by the external device in authorized communication with the control system to selectively cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle without the control subsystem being in release condition.

[016] In one embodiment, the processing structure is configured to automatically create and store at least one history record in the processor-readable internal memory each time the shackle is released, each history record comprising a fingerprint identifier . In one embodiment, each history record further comprises at least one of: date/time information and location information.

[017] In one embodiment, the electronic management interface is accessible by the external device in authorized communication with the control system to selectively provide at least a subset of the history records to the authorized external device.

[018] In one embodiment, the padlock device is powered by at least one battery and the electronic management interface is accessible by the external device in authorized communication with the control system to selectively provide information about the at least one battery to the device authorized external.

[019] In one embodiment, the control system comprises a wireless transceiver for communicating wirelessly with an external device.

[020] In one embodiment, at least one fingerprint record is stored in association with one or more authorized time windows, wherein the release condition additionally requires that a time in which the detected fingerprint data is detected by the biometric sensor falls within one of the one or more time windows authorized for the at least one corresponding fingerprint record.

[021] In one embodiment, the release condition additionally requires that additional detected fingerprint data be detected by the biometric sensor and that the additional detected fingerprint data matches the authorized fingerprint data in at least one other of the fingerprint records.

[022] In one embodiment, the processing structure is configured to authorize communications with an external device only in the event that the processing structure confirms both a serial number that corresponds to the padlock device provided by the external device and a security key. user that corresponds to an authorized manager of the lock device provided by the external device.

[023] According to another aspect, a padlock system is provided comprising the padlock device and a processor-readable medium that incorporates a computer program for provisioning the external device to conduct authorized communications with the padlock device, the program computer comprising program code for authenticating an authorized manager of the lock device on the external device; program code to cause the external device to retrieve the serial number of the lock device from a remote server in the event that the authorized manager is authenticated; and program code for sending the retrieved serial number and a corresponding user key to the authorized manager to the lock device to thereby request the lock device to authorize communications with the external device.

[024] According to another aspect, a padlock system comprising the padlock device is provided; and a processor-readable medium incorporating a computer program for provisioning the external device to conduct authorized communications with the lock device, the computer program comprising program code for presenting a user interface on the external device to enable the authorized manager to conduct fingerprint record management for the padlock device; and program code to access the management interface of the padlock device according to the management.

[025] In one embodiment, the program code for accessing the management interface comprises program code for generating a new fingerprint identifier; and program code to send the new fingerprint identifier to the management interface with an instruction to add a new fingerprint record, the padlock device processing framework is configured to create and store a new fingerprint record using the new fingerprint identifier and fingerprint data coincidentally electronically detected by the padlock device's biometric sensor.

[026] In one embodiment, the program code for accessing the management interface comprises program code for generating a new fingerprint identifier and capturing fingerprint data using the external device; and program code for sending the new fingerprint identifier and the captured fingerprint data to the management interface with an instruction for adding a new fingerprint record, which the padlock device processing structure is configured to create and storing a new fingerprint record using the new fingerprint identifier and fingerprint data sent from the external device.

[027] In one embodiment, the program code for accessing the management interface comprises program code for enabling the authorized manager to select a fingerprint identifier; and program code for sending the selected fingerprint identifier to the management interface with an instruction to delete or disable a corresponding fingerprint record stored in the processor-readable memory of the lock device.

[028] In one embodiment, the processing structure generates the fingerprint identifier. In another embodiment, the fingerprint identifier for a new fingerprint registration is received from an external device via the management interface.

[029] According to another aspect, a method is provided for operating a padlock device having a housing and a shackle associated with the housing, the shackle having, with respect to the housing, a closed configuration and an open configuration, the method comprising storing one or more fingerprint records in a processor-readable internal memory of the padlock device, each fingerprint record comprising authorized fingerprint data associated with a respective fingerprint identifier; causing a locking subsystem associated with the housing to securely retain the shackle in the closed configuration; causing a biometric sensor to electronically detect fingerprint data from a finger that is detected; in the event of a release condition that requires at least the detected fingerprint data to match the authorized fingerprint data in at least one of the fingerprint records, cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle to enable , so that the shackle is in the open configuration; present a management interface accessible by an external device in authorized communication with the padlock device that enables the external device to selectively: store one or more fingerprint records in processor-readable internal memory; and deleting or disabling one or more fingerprint records stored in the processor-readable internal memory based on at least one or more respective fingerprint identifiers provided by the external device.

[030] According to another aspect, a method is provided for unlocking a padlock, the method comprising: scanning a fingerprint of a user with a sensor; converting the fingerprint into digital fingerprint data; comparing the digital data to a set of at least one fingerprint digital data record; and unlocking the padlock if the converted fingerprint fingerprint data matches one of the set of at least one fingerprint fingerprint data record.

[031] According to another aspect, a method is provided for registering a padlock comprising a memory with an owner account, the method comprising: connecting the padlock with an external device; generate a unique lock ID and store the lock ID in the lock device's local memory if no existing lock ID is found in memory; store the lock ID in an online database.

[032] According to another aspect, a method is provided for associating a registered fingerprint with at least one data point stored in an external database. This association can then be used to read, identify, manage, add, delete or control users, fingerprints, accesses and other relevant functions.

[033] According to another aspect, a method is provided for connecting the padlock to an external device, which has or is connected to a screen or a display, which has or is connected to an input source and which has access to a database, can be used to display information about the padlock and its stored fingerprints and control, manage, add, delete or control fingerprints, users and accesses that belong to the connected padlock.

[034] According to another aspect, a method is provided for collecting information about each access and its user at the time of access and transmitting and storing this information in an online database. This information can then be displayed or used for other purposes such as display, analysis, reporting, calculations, etc.

[035] According to another aspect, a method is provided to protect the padlock from water damage using mechanical designs that prevent water from affecting the electrical components of the padlock.

[036] According to another aspect, a method is provided for replenishing the padlock power supply without moving, changing or removing physical components of the padlock.

[037] According to another aspect, a method is provided to prevent power outages by reminding the user to replenish the power supply when the power supply reaches certain levels.

[038] According to another aspect, a method is provided to minimize energy consumption to increase the life of the power supply and decrease the frequency and time required to replenish the power supply.

[039] According to another aspect, a method is provided for unlocking the padlock using a button on the padlock without using fingerprints, keys and external devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[040] Some embodiments of the invention are explained in further detail below with reference to the Figures, which are intended to illustrate exemplary embodiments only and not to limit the scope of the invention, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of the front side of a lock device according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is an isometric view of the rear side of the padlock device of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the lock device of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a front view of a printed circuit board (PCB) subassembly of the lock device in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the PCB subassembly of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lock device of Figure 1; Figure 6A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the circled portion of Figure 6, illustrating an interface between a channel and a shackle; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the lock device of Figure 1; Figure 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the circled portion of Figure 7, illustrating a mechanism for securing a rear cover of the padlock device; Figure 8 is a front view of a mobile device displaying a user interface of a software application for communicating with the padlock device, in accordance with one embodiment; Figure 9 is a flowchart showing steps in a method to initialize the padlock device using the software application; Figure 10 is a flowchart showing steps in a method to authenticate a software application user with the padlock device; Figure 11 is a flowchart showing steps in an alternative method to authenticate a software application user with the padlock device; Figure 12 is a flow chart showing steps in a method to authenticate using a fingerprint; Figure 13 is a front view of a mobile device displaying a software application user interface showing a list of individual users with access privileges for the lock device; Figure 13A is a front view of a mobile device displaying a user interface of a software application that displays a list of fingerprints under one or more user profiles; Figure 14 is a flowchart showing steps in a method of registering a fingerprint for use with a lock device according to an embodiment; Figure 15 is a flowchart showing steps in a method of operating the lock device according to an embodiment; Figure 16 is a flow chart showing steps in a method for deleting one or more fingerprints from the lock device; Figure 17 is a flow chart showing steps in a method for deleting one or more user profiles from the software application; Figure 18 is a flowchart showing steps in a method to completely reset a padlock device; Figure 19 is a flowchart showing steps in a method whereby the software application retrieves access history stored on the padlock device; Figure 20 is a front view of a mobile device displaying a software application user interface for displaying a fingerprint unlocking history list; Figure 20A is a front view of a mobile device displaying a user interface for a software application that lists multiple padlock devices registered to an owner account; Figure 21 is a flowchart showing steps in a method of setting Morse code using the padlock device; Figure 21A is a front view of a mobile device displaying a user interface for a software application for defining Morse code; Figure 22 is a flowchart showing steps in a method to unlock the padlock using Morse code; Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication device, according to an embodiment; Figure 24 is a block diagram showing software components in the mobile communication device of Figure 23.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MODALITIES

[041] Exemplary embodiments are described herein that are not intended to be limiting of the scope of the invention. The following are merely examples that illustrate some of the concepts described in this document.

[042] Figure 1 is an isometric view of the front side of a padlock device 100 according to an embodiment. The padlock device 100 includes a shackle 102 associated with a housing 104 and which may be in an open configuration or a closed configuration with respect to the housing 104 and may be securely retained in the closed configuration, and released, as will be described. Housing 104 comprises a first channel 132 that is adapted to accept a first portion 134 of shackle 102 and a second channel 154 that accepts a second portion 152 of shackle 102. Padlock device 100 comprises a front cover 106 and a rear cover 112 In this embodiment, the front cover 106 of the padlock device 100 has an opening for framing a biometric sensor 108 which, in this embodiment, is a capacitive type fingerprint sensor for electronically detecting fingerprint data from a finger that is detected.

[043] A light emitting diode (LED) 110 is visible through the front cover 106 and, in this embodiment, serves as a status indicator - or status - for the padlock device 100. For example, when the padlock device 100 is in an unlocked state, LED 110 is caused to turn green. When the padlock device 100 is in a locked state, but is connected to another device via Bluetooth, the LED 110 is caused to turn blue. When a user provides a fingerprint that is not accepted by the lock device 100, the LED 110 is caused to turn red.

[044] Figure 2 is an isometric view of the rear side of the padlock device 100. A rear cover 112 is prominently shown in Figure 2, as is a charging port 114. The charging port 114 is configured to interface with with a corresponding charging cable (not shown), to carry current to an internal power source (a battery 164, shown in Figure 3, in this embodiment) of the lock device 100. In this embodiment, the charging port 114 can also do interface with a charging cable to carry current from the 164 battery to charge other external electronic devices, such as smartphones.

[045] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the padlock device 100. A power button 116 is externally accessible through the front cover 106 and is mounted thereon through an E-ring 118 to prevent the power button from 116 is detached from the front cover 106. A very small spring 120 is mounted in the columnar portion of the power switch 116 to ensure that the power switch 116 returns to an OFF position after being pressed to its ON position. In this embodiment, the power button 116 is interfaced with a very small O-ring 122 to inhibit one or more of water, dust, and steam from entering the interior of the padlock device 100 through the opening in the housing 104 through which the power button 116 energy is exposed to a user. When a user presses the power button 116, the power button 116 in turn actuates a switch mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) 124 to thereby activate the power and/or other states of the lock device 100, such as a Bluetooth connection mode, as will be described.

[046] In this embodiment, the biometric sensor 108 is a capacitive fingerprint sensor produced by Fingerprint Cards AB of Sweden under model number FPC1020 and is mounted inside the front cover 106 together with a plastic insulator 126 equipped with a gasket ( sensor gasket) 128. The sensor gasket 128 achieves a similar sealing function for the housing 104 and the biometric sensor 108 as the O-ring 122 for the power button 116. In this embodiment, the biometric sensor 108, the plastic insulator 126 and sensor gasket 128 are mounted to front cover 106 by attaching a rear cover sensor 130 to front cover 106 using one or more screws 133.

[047] The biometric sensor 108 is electrically connected to be in communications with a processing structure 135 supported on the PCB 124. In this embodiment, the processing structure 135 is a coordinated set of two microprocessors mounted in communications with each other on the PCB 124 In particular, in this embodiment, the first microprocessor is a Multiprotocol Bluetooth chip provided by Nordic Semiconductor of Trondheim, Norway under model number nRF51822-QFAC and the second microprocessor is a 32-bit ARM® Cortex®-M3 Microcontroller provided by ARM Inc. of Cambridge, U.K., under the model Cortex-M3. In this embodiment, the first microprocessor serves as a master controller for the padlock device 100 and the second microprocessor, controlled by the first processor, is primarily used to process detected fingerprints, as will be described.

[048] Figure 4 is a front view of the PCB 124. The processing structure 135 and a female connector 136 for receiving a male counterpart connector extending from the biometric sensor 108 are shown in Figure 4. In this embodiment, the PCB 124 also supports various surface mounted connectors 138, which are used for electrical connection. PCB 124 also supports a processor-readable internal memory associated with processing structure 135.

[049] Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the PCB 124. As seen in Figure 5, an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) pad 140 is associated with an insulation board 142 and is located behind the connector portion female biometric sensor 136. EVA pad 140 reinforces the connection between biometric sensor 108 and PCB 124. PCB 124 mounts to front cover 106 using screws 144.

[050] Figure 5, which does not show all components, shows a clear alignment relationship between the biometric sensor 108, the PCB 124, the EVA pad 140 and the isolation board 142. The isolation board 142 is mounted on the housing 104 using screws 146. Insulation plate 142 separates PCB 124 from the mechanical elements described hereinafter. In this embodiment, the front cover 106 comprises a decorative ring 148 which also reinforces the rigidity of the front cover 106 and a rubber ring 150 positioned between the two as a form of a gasket to prevent one or more of water, dust and mist from entering. inside the padlock device 100. The front cover 106 is secured to the rest of the housing 104 by, for example, screws 152, and the decorative ring 148 is fixed between the front cover 106 and the housing 104.

[051] The padlock device 100 includes a lock subsystem to securely retain the shackle 102 in the closed configuration, as will be described in further detail. In this embodiment, the lock subsystem includes two latches 155 that make contact with the shackle 102 in order to securely retain the shackle 102 when the padlock device 100 is in the closed configuration. Two long springs 156 are mounted within the latches 155 to bias the latches 155 into a retaining position. Two small metal shafts 158 are concentrically mounted with springs 156 to guide movement between held (locked) and released (unlocked) positions of latches 155.

[052] Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the padlock device 100. As shown in Figure 6, in the closed configuration, a first portion 134 of the shackle 102 is received in a channel 132 and a second portion 152 of the shackle 102 is received in a channel 154. The latches 155 in the locked position prevent the withdrawal of the first portion 134 and the second portion 152 of the shackle 102 from the respective channels 132 and 154. In the locked position, the wider portions of the shackle 102 are pressed against rings rubber rings 160 mounted in the housing 104. The rubber rings 160 inhibit liquid, dust and mist from entering the interior of the lock device 100 while the lock device 100 is closed and particularly while locked.

[053] In this embodiment, the lock subsystem additionally comprises a motor 162 in drive engagement via a rotor 166 with locks 155 and also powered by a battery 164. The motor 162 is in electrical communication with the processing structure 135, in particular the first microprocessor in this modality, via terminals on the PCB 124 to thus enable the processing structure 135 to communicate with the lock subsystem. In the event of a release condition, as will be described in further detail below, a signal is sent by processing structure 135 to drive motor 162, which serves to rotate rotor 166 to, in turn, cause latches 155 to back inward to thereby release each portion 134, 152 of shackle 102 to enable shackle 102 to be moved to its open configuration.

[054] In the unlocked position, a spring 168 that was compressed against its propensity by the second portion 154, is able to push the second portion 154 and, thus, the entire shackle 102, upwards until it reaches its position rest. Once this is done, perhaps after a very short delay to enable spring 168 to work against any friction, motor 162 is stopped by processing structure 135 from being driven against the bias of springs 156 to latches 155, enabling, that way, the latches 155 return to their resting position - which is their extended or locked position. The shackle 102 which has been moved upwardly by the spring 168 away from the latches 155 remains in an unlocked state and free from being moved into an open configuration, to circulate through some object to be latched, until such time as its portions 134, 152 are pushed back down into respective channels 132, 154 to be engaged again by latches 155.

[055] When the first portion 134 of the shackle 102 is removed from the channel 132, the shackle 102 is prevented from being completely separated from the housing 104, since the second portion 152 of the shackle 102 (which has a longer length than the first portion 134) is prevented from being completely removed from the second channel 154 of the housing 104 by a rivet 170. The shackle 102 can, however, be freely rotated while retained within the housing 104 about an axis aligned with the second portion 152.

[056] In this mode, once unlocked and the first portion 134 of the shackle 102 is removed, a user can manually close and relock the shackle 102 by reinserting the first portion 134 into the channel 132 far enough to engage the latches 155 and thus , push them back slightly against the bias of springs 156 until latches 155 can fit back into respective slots in portions 134 and 152.

[057] With reference again to Figure 6, in this embodiment, a lower part of the first portion 134 of the shackle 102 has a different and smaller diameter than other portions of the shackle 102. This multi-diameter design is to reduce ease and, therefore, the likelihood of plating - the insertion of foreign objects into channel 132 and channel 154 beyond first portion 134 and second portion 152 of shackle 102 in an attempt to manually release latches 155. As can be seen in Figure 6 and, in In particular, in Figure 6A, the diameter of the first portion 134 of the clevis 102 is small enough to be inserted into the channel 132, while the diameter of the portion of the clevis 102 that does not penetrate the channel 132 is large enough to obstruct and, it is hoped, , prevent insertion of any additional objects or sheets into channel 132. Figure 6A is an enlarged view of the interface between first portion 134 of shackle 102 at the point of insertion into channel 132.

[058] As disclosed above, in this embodiment, screws 152 secure the front cover 106 to the housing 104, thus involving the internal components on the front side of the padlock device 100. The rear side of the padlock device 100 (as shown in Figure 2) is secured by the rear cover 112. Figure 7 shows a side view of the padlock device 100 in a locked configuration without the front portions, thereby providing a view of the internal mechanism for securing the rear cover 112 to the padlock device 100. As shown in Figure 7, the back cover 112 is held in the housing 104 by four hooks 172. Thus, in order to remove or insert the back cover 112, the back cover 112 needs to be rotated in order to release or lock the screws. hooks 172. In this embodiment, a rubber ring 174 seals the rear cover 112 in the same way that the rubber ring 150 seals the front cover 106.

[059] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the padlock device 100 and Figure 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the circled portion of Figure 7, which illustrates a mechanism for holding the rear cover 112 of the padlock device 100. The rear cover 112 comprises a cavity 176 which accommodates a stop pin 178. The stop pin 178 is inserted into the cavity 176 and is urged out by the spring 160. The stop pin 178 is prevented from completely exiting the housing 104 by interference between the larger diameter portion 182 of stop pin 178 and housing 104. When stop pin 178 is penetrating cavity 176, rotation of rear cover 112 is prevented. In this way, the rear cover 112 is prevented by the stop pin 178 from being removed and, if such removal is successful, it would result in damage to the padlock device 100. Figure 7A provides enlarged views of the padlock device 100 in a closed position, in which spring 180 is pushing stop pin 178 into cavity 176, thereby preventing rotation of rear cover 112.

[060] In this mode, the padlock device 100 operates in conjunction with various software and hardware systems, as described in this document. For example, in this embodiment, the processor-readable internal memory and processing structure 135 are configured to together serve as a control subsystem that communicates with the biometric sensor 108 and the lock subsystem to release the shackle 102, as described. above, in the event of a release condition. The processor-readable internal memory is configured to store one or more fingerprint records, with each fingerprint record comprising authorized fingerprint data associated with a respective fingerprint identifier. Depending on the implementation or needs of a system, the fingerprint identifier can again be generated by an external device and provided to the padlock device 100 to create a new fingerprint record or it can be generated by the padlock device 100 when the lock device 100 is instructed to create a new fingerprint record. For example, for larger companies, it can be useful to have centralized creation of fingerprint identifiers so that individual padlock devices 100 for the enterprise do not carry duplicate fingerprint identifiers that are actually associated on different padlock devices 100 with different fingerprints.

[061] The processing structure 135 is configured to receive fingerprint data detected from the biometric sensor 108 and to cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle 102 when the release condition is satisfied. In this embodiment, the release condition requires at least that the detected fingerprint data match the authorized fingerprint data in at least one of the fingerprint registrations, thereby enabling an authorized person to open the shackle 102 simply by touching the biometric sensor 108 with your finger. In one embodiment, the release condition may additionally require, for example, that the detected fingerprint data be detected by the biometric sensor in a time that corresponds to one or more authorized time slots for the corresponding fingerprint registration. The authorized time slots may additionally be stored in association with at least one of the fingerprint records in processor-readable internal memory. This would enable the padlock device 100 to remain locked outside certain time windows for persons who, within the time windows, would otherwise have the ability to unlock the padlock device 100. In embodiments where the padlock device 100 does not track time, such time window functionality may be provided only to those using a software application on an external device to unlock lock device 100, or not be provided at all. As another example, the release condition may require that additional detected fingerprint data be detected by the biometric sensor 108 (i.e., the fingerprint of more than one person, sequentially) and that the additional detected fingerprint data match those authorized fingerprint data in at least one other of the fingerprint records. This would enable padlock device 100 to require that two different people (or at least two different fingerprints) be presented to unlock padlock device 100.

[062] The processing structure 135 of the padlock device 100, in this embodiment, the first microprocessor, is also configured to present a management interface accessible by an external device that is in authorized communication with the control system. In this embodiment, the management interface presents available software function calls to be called by an external device that is authorized to communicate with the padlock device 100. The available function calls for the external device enable the external device to instruct the padlock device 100 to enroll a new fingerprint, delete or disable a fingerprint, provide access history, unlock padlock device 100, and the like. By providing such function calls, the external device can make changes and can request information from the padlock device 100 without having to know the precise implementation details of the padlock device 100. That is, the external device does not have to know how the internal memory readable by processor is managed in the padlock device 100, nor is the instruction set to the processing structure 135. Using the management interface in accordance with this embodiment, the external device can selectively instruct the processing structure 135 to store one or more fingerprint records in processor-readable internal memory and/or instructing processing structure 135 to delete or disable one or more fingerprint records stored in processor-readable internal memory based on at least one or more respective fingerprint identifiers provided by the external device.

[063] In this embodiment, the first microprocessor, which serves as the master controller of the padlock device 100, communicates with the external device and also controls the second microprocessor, the movement of the motor 162, energy management and alternative methods for unlocking the padlock device 100, such as via the management interface, as will be described, or via a pattern of button presses, as will also be described. The second microprocessor is used primarily for fingerprint-related processes, such as capturing fingerprint data from the biometric sensor 108, retrieving fingerprint data from the processor-readable internal memory, and signaling the first microprocessor in the event of matches or non-matches, etc.

[064] In this embodiment, the processing structure 135 is also configured to present the management interface accessible by the external device in authorized communication with the control system to selectively instruct the processing structure 135 to cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle 102 without the control subsystem being in the release condition (i.e., without having to have a finger presented to the biometric sensor 108). This enables lock device 100 to be unlocked by an authorized person who has possession and control of the external device.

[065] In this embodiment, such an external device may be a mobile device 800, provisioned to conduct authorized communications with the lock device 100, present a user interface, and provide lock device management functionality to a user of the mobile device 800 to thus enabling the user to be a manager of the padlock device 100. A mobile device 800 is convenient to carry and can provide a convenient interface for managing access to the padlock device 100. Such a mobile device 800 can be provisioned by downloading to mobile device 800 of an executable software application (computer program) from, for example, an "App Store" server site, as provided by Apple Computer of Cupertino, California, USA, and installing the application software so that it can function on the mobile device 800. The software application includes program code for authenticating a user who is an authorized manager of the padlock device 100 on the mobile device 800 and program code for presenting a user interface on the mobile device 800 to enable the authorized manager to conduct fingerprint record management for padlock device 100. The software application also includes program code for accessing the management interface of padlock device 100 to selectively instruct the security structure. processing 135 of the lock device 100 according to the management.

[066] In this embodiment, the software application also includes program code to cause the mobile device 800 to retrieve a serial number of the padlock device 100 from a remote server in the event that the authorized manager is authenticated. The software application also includes program code to send the retrieved serial number and a user key that corresponds to the authorized manager to the padlock device 100 to thereby request that the padlock device 100 authorize communications with the mobile device 800 to thereby enable mobile device 800 to instruct lock device 100 via its management interface, as described above.

[067] In this mode, the mobile device 800 is a smartphone. Figure 8 is a front view of a smartphone 800 displaying a user interface of a software application for communicating with the lock device 100, in accordance with an embodiment. In this embodiment, the smartphone 800 incorporates a biometric sensor 802, although in alternative embodiments a smartphone or other mobile device may be communicatively coupled to a biometric sensor rather than having a biometric sensor integrated within the smartphone 800 or may have no biometric sensor at all. In this embodiment, the smartphone 800 also comprises a display 804 capable of displaying a user interface of a software application for communicating with the lock device 100 to a user. Display 804 also displays a battery power indicator 808 for the lock device 100 with which it is paired. In this embodiment, smartphone 800 incorporates a touch screen 806 for accepting touch inputs from a user. In this embodiment, the smartphone 800 incorporates a cellular transceiver, a Wi-Fi transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver to allow communication with various other devices in various situations.

Padlock device initialization

[068] In this mode, before the padlock device 100 can be locked and unlocked, the padlock device 100 must first be initialized to be associated with a user account. In this embodiment, this initialization process is called “first pairing”. Figure 9 is a flowchart showing steps in a method to initialize lock device 100 using application software. When the software application is run on the smartphone 800 at step 902 for the first time, the software application will proceed to step 904 to check whether the user has an account or not. If the user does not have an existing account, the software application will proceed to step 906 and encourage the user to register an account with basic user-related information (e.g., one or more of a username, an email address, mail, a password, a name, a physical address, security questions, or the like). If the user already has an account, the software application will proceed to step 908 and encourage the user to log into an existing account with information provided during registration. In this mode, account information is stored in an online database on a remote server.

[069] In this mode, the padlock device 100 can be awakened from sleep mode by pressing the power button 116 once and can be switched to a Bluetooth mode by pressing the power button 116 a second time (step 910), whereby the Bluetooth transceiver is in a condition to pair and communicate with, for example, the smartphone 800. Upon pressing the "add padlock" symbol 2006 in the software application, as shown in Figure 20A (a front view from a mobile device 800 that displays a user interface to a software application that lists multiple padlock devices 100 registered to an owner account), the smartphone 800 will search for the nearby padlock device 100 via Bluetooth when using a device UUID that is preconfigured in padlock device 100 during production (step 912); the device UUID is a predefined identifier to help the software application find the lock device 100 during Bluetooth scans; once the smartphone 800 finds the padlock device 100 via Bluetooth, a connection (e.g., a Bluetooth connection) is then established between the padlock device 100 and the smartphone 800 at step 914. The software application sends then an initialization request with a master password, which is also pre-set and stored in padlock device 100 during production, to padlock device 100 (step 916). A master password is a secret identification code for the lock device 100 to recognize an authorized software application installed on the mobile device 800. In step 918, upon receipt of the initialization request with the correct master password, the lock device 100 fetches its memory to see if it has already been initialized and associated with an owner account; if so, lock device 100 sends a boot failure signal to the software application, ending the boot process (step 920). On the other hand, if the padlock device 100 has not yet been initialized, the processing structure 135 of the padlock device 100 and the processor-readable internal memory then proceed to boot. The lock device 100 then checks to see if a Serial Number (SN) - essentially a unique lock ID - has already been stored (step 922). In this embodiment, once an SN has been assigned to a lock device 100, it would be permanently stored in the processor-readable internal memory of the lock device 100; even if the lock device 100 has to be deleted or reset to factory settings, allowing a previously initialized lock device 100 to be initialized again and associated with a different owner account without changing the SN; the SN can then be used to track lock devices in change of ownership events. If an SN number has already been stored in the padlock device 100, the padlock device 100 sends the stored SN to the software application to be used (step 924). If an SN number has not been assigned to padlock device 100, then the software application generates a unique SN to be used in step 926.

[070] In this embodiment, the SN is generated using a single string generation algorithm, such as an algorithm known in the prior art. It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the SN can also be generated by obtaining a sequentially unused ID from the online database and encrypting it, and in such cases publicly available cryptographic algorithms such as MD5, SHA -1 or SHA-256 can be used for encryption. At step 928, the software application then generates two random keys (here called key1 and key2) using a random string generation algorithm, such as an algorithm known in the prior art. The software application then sends the SN, key1 and key2 to the lock device 100, which stores the received information in the processor-readable internal memory of the lock device 100 (step 930); the software application then sends the SN, key1, key2 and relevant information of the lock device 100 (such as MAC address, firmware version, etc.) to the online database to be stored (step 932 ); in the online database, padlock device 100 and key1 (the key for owner-level permissions) are associated with the user account; in step 934, the software application deletes the SN, key1 and key2 of the mobile device 800. The initialization is successful and the user account is then considered to be an owner account for the padlock device 100 (step 936). It should be noted that, in some embodiments, there may be multiple owner accounts for the lock device 100 and each owner account may have different permission levels that allow different settings to be changed under that owner account; multiple keys would be generated and associated with different accounts to distinguish permission levels. In some embodiments, an owner account may have multiple lock devices 100 associated with the account.

[071] It should be noted that the use of keys (e.g. key1 and key2 as mentioned above) are used in conjunction with the SN as a security measure to prevent the SN from being illegally overheard, recorded and used to gain access illegal to lock device 100. It should also be noted that, in some embodiments, key1 and key2 may be updated with newly generated strings each time the owner is authenticated and the software application connects to lock device 100; this further enhances system security by preventing a key from being used multiple times.

Authentication

[072] According to some embodiments, authentication is required before any management, such as changes to settings by an authorized owner/manager, can be performed on any of the padlock devices 100 registered to an account. For example, if the owner wants to share access to a padlock device 100 with a user who is not the owner (e.g., a third party), add additional authorized fingerprints to local memory on the padlock device 100, or remove a fingerprint of padlock device 100, all these actions would require owner authentication. It should be appreciated that some embodiments of the invention work without non-owner information being stored in the local memory of lock device 100. However, in other embodiments, the owner may choose to add another user's fingerprint (e.g., an individual who does not is the owner) in a digital format in local memory on the lock device 100 so that the lock device 100 can be used by that non-owner user with a fingerprint and without the use of a smartphone.

[073] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing steps in a method 1000 for authenticating a user of the software application with the padlock device 100. In some embodiments, two keys are stored in the padlock device 100: key1 is used as a permission indicator for an owner, while key2 is used as a permission indicator for a shared user. Owner authentication can be performed through the software application on the smartphone 800 via an online database by comparing a key associated with the user in the database with the key1 stored in the lock device during startup. At step 1002, the software application will encourage the user to log in using credentials (e.g., one or more of a username, an email address, a password, or the like) provided during registration. When the user successfully logs in, the padlock device 100 can communicate with the mobile device 800 by pressing the power button 116 twice and turning on the padlock's Bluetooth mode (step 1004). The software application automatically scans in the vicinity of the mobile device 800 for any padlock devices 100 with the preconfigured Bluetooth UUID stored in the padlock device 100 during production. The software application identifies a padlock device 100 by its MAC address and retrieves the associated SN and user key previously stored during initialization from the online database.

[074] The software application sends the SN and key to the lock device 100 (step 1006). In step 1008, the software application compares information obtained from the database with that in the lock device 100. If the SN matches the one stored in the lock device 100 and the user key matches the key1 stored in the lock device padlock 100, then owner authentication succeeds and owner permissions are established (step 1010). If not, the method proceeds to step 1012 and authentication fails.

Alternate Authentication

[075] In this embodiment, if the owner is within proximity of the padlock device 100, the user can be authenticated by retrieving and using the encrypted owner identifier stored in the local memory of the padlock device 100 (instead of matching lock ids stored between the padlock device 100 and the online database). This owner identifier can then be compared with an owner identifier computed from the fingerprint provided by the user attempting authorization. According to some embodiments, only the owner is allowed to authenticate using data stored locally in the lock device 100.

[076] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing steps in an alternate method 1100 for authenticating a user of the software application with the padlock device 100. When the owner has been successfully authenticated (step 1102), the software application software on the mobile device 800 will encourage the owner to scan the fingerprint on the mobile device biometric sensor 802 or the padlock device biometric sensor 108 (step 1104). In some embodiments, the fingerprint is provided via a separate biometric sensor device that is communicatively coupled to the mobile device 800. The received fingerprint is then converted into a fingerprint template using techniques known in the prior art (step 1106 ). The template is then converted into an owner identifier via one-way encryption (step 1108). In some embodiments, publicly available cryptographic algorithms, such as MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256, may be used for one-way encryption. The owner identifier is then stored in the processor-readable internal memory of lock device 100 (step 1110). Finally, the owner identifier is uploaded to an online database where the owner identifier is associated with the owner account (eg via the account user ID) and stored (step 1112).

[077] Figure 12 is a flow chart showing steps in a method 1200 for authentication using a fingerprint. In this embodiment, the padlock device 100 is connected to the mobile device 800 by pressing the power button 116 twice and turning on the connection mode. A connection (in this embodiment, a Bluetooth connection) is then established between the padlock device 100 and the mobile device 800 (step 1202). The software application then encourages the owner to scan the fingerprint on the mobile device biometric sensor 802 or the padlock device biometric sensor 108 (step 1204). In some embodiments, the fingerprint is provided via biometric sensor 802. In some embodiments, the fingerprint is provided via a separate biometric sensor device that is communicatively coupled to mobile device 800. The received fingerprint is then converted into a fingerprint template using techniques known in the prior art (step 1206). The template is then converted into an owner identifier via one-way encryption (step 1208). In some embodiments, publicly available cryptographic algorithms, such as MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256, may be used for one-way encryption. The newly converted owner identifier is then compared with the owner identifier stored in lock device 100 (step 1210). If the owner identifiers match, then the owner authentication succeeds (step 1212). If no matches are found, owner authentication fails (step 1214) and all subsequent contingent actions upon owner authentication must be denied.

user profiles

[078] In some embodiments, the software application may allow the owner to manage fingerprints according to individual user identities or user profiles. Figure 13 is a front view of a mobile device 800 displaying a user interface of a software application that shows a list of individual users with access privileges for the padlock device 100. As shown in Figure 13, once registered , a list of user profiles 1302 with privileges to access the padlock device 100 is displayed to the owner in the software application. The owner may also associate additional users with the padlock device 100 via the software application, for example by pressing a button 1304 on the touch screen of the smartphone 800. Figure 13A is a front view of a mobile device 800 displaying a user interface of a software application that displays a list of fingerprints under one or more user profiles. As shown in Figure 13A, data pertaining to more than one fingerprint of the same user can be managed and/or stored in the online database. In some embodiments, the processor-readable internal memory in lock device 100 may store data pertaining to more than one fingerprint for different fingerprints of the same user. It should be noted that organizing fingerprint data according to a hierarchical structure based on user rather than fingerprint allows for more efficient modification of access privileges. For example, simply deleting the user would delete all fingerprints associated with that user, rather than having to delete each fingerprint for that user individually.

fingerprint registration

[079] In this embodiment, the owner enables the padlock device 100 to enter a mode of operation in which the padlock device 100 can accept a user's fingerprint for storage within the local memory of the padlock device 100 as a user authorized to unlock padlock device 100. Once in the "accept" mode of operation, the user can scan a fingerprint on padlock device 100 via sensor 108 and a fingerprint template that matches the fingerprint is then stored to a fingerprint record in processor-readable internal memory in padlock device 100 in association with a fingerprint ID unique to the finger that was scanned. In this embodiment, only the owner has the required privileges to enable the padlock device 100 to accept a fingerprint for scanning and local storage within the local memory of the padlock device 100.

[080] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing steps in a method 1400 for enrolling, or "enrolling", a fingerprint for use with a padlock device 100 that has already been initialized by the owner, according to an embodiment. It should be noted that the fingerprint being registered can belong to a non-owner user or the owner himself. In this embodiment, in step 1402, the owner is required to be authenticated by the software application (as described in Figure 11) and confirmed as the owner of the lock device 100 before the lock device 100 accepts the user's fingerprint. In this embodiment, when the owner authentication is successful, the owner can send a fingerprint enrollment command to the padlock device 100 via the application software. The lock device 100 wakes the biometric sensor 108; the user is then able to enroll a fingerprint via the biometric sensor 108 at step 1404. Once the biometric sensor 108 detects a finger touch, it (in coordination with the second microprocessor of the processing structure 135 that handles tasks of fingerprint data) captures three consecutive capacitive touch images of the fingerprint (step 1406) to collect detected fingerprint data. The first two images are used to generate a fingerprint template, which is then stored by the second microprocessor of the processing structure 135 as a fingerprint record in the template library within the memory of the padlock device 100 in association with a fingerprint identifier (step 1408). The third image is then used to verify the template (step 1410). If the third image fails to match the generated fingerprint template, the enrollment process fails (step 1412); the fingerprint template and fingerprint images are deleted from lock device 100 and the user is encouraged to try again. If the third image matches the generated fingerprint template, then the enrollment is successful (step 1414); the fingerprint images are deleted from the padlock device 100 while the generated fingerprint template is maintained.

[081] In this embodiment, the padlock device 100 produces a sequentially new fingerprint identifier for the fingerprint to be used as the fingerprint identifier. The fingerprint identifier is associated with the fingerprint template in the processor-readable internal memory of lock device 100 and is also sent to mobile device 800 (step 1416). The software application then allows the owner to choose the user whose fingerprint has just been accepted from a list of user profiles (step 1418). If the user does not exist in the list of user profiles, the owner is asked to enter basic information (for example, one or more of a username, an email address, a name or similar) about the user and create a user profile for the user. If the user has an existing user profile, that user profile will be used. Once the user profile has been selected or created, the owner then selects which finger the accepted fingerprint belongs to in step 1420. In this embodiment, the fingerprint identifier, user profile, selected finger, account owner and all relevant information is associated with each other and uploaded to the online database on the remote server for storage in step 1422.

Lock device operation

[082] In this embodiment, the padlock device 100 can be unlocked via the software application on the smartphone 800 or via the biometric sensor 108 on the padlock device 100 itself. Figure 15 is a flowchart that shows steps in a method 1500 for operating the lock device 100 according to an embodiment. In step 1502, the power button 116 of the locked padlock device 100 is pressed. This serves to wake up the padlock device 100 if it is in sleep mode. In step 1504, the user presses a finger against the biometric sensor 108 on the padlock device 100; this wakes up the biometric sensor 108. It will be appreciated that the user must use a finger for which a fingerprint has been previously stored in the local memory of the lock device 100 to successfully unlock the lock device 100. In step 1506, the biometric sensor 108 receives the fingerprint and converts the received fingerprint into digital data using techniques known in the art. At step 1510, the second microprocessor of processing structure 135 in padlock device 100 compares the fingerprint digital data with fingerprint templates (including that of the owner) stored in local memory in device 100.

[083] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the compare and match process can be done on other components or devices (for example, the fingerprint module or the mobile device). In this mode, if the received fingerprint matches - that is, matches - one of the fingerprint templates stored in the local memory, then the release condition is reached and the lock must be unlocked. In one embodiment, this newly received fingerprint is also used to enrich the current template; this enrichment process, called adaptive fingerprint learning, increases the accuracy and performance of the fingerprint scanning process each time an authorized fingerprint is scanned. With the second microprocessor of processing structure 135 having recognized that the detected fingerprint data corresponds to the fingerprint data in a fingerprint record in processor-readable internal memory, the second microprocessor signals the first microprocessor. The first microprocessor can determine if any other conditions need to be satisfied before it considers the release condition to be completely satisfied, and if the release condition is, in fact, completely satisfied, the first microprocessor of processing structure 135 causes the lock subsystem move to an unlocked condition by causing motor 162 to release locks 155 to allow shackle 102 to be ejected from channel 132 and 154 (step 1510); in some embodiments, LED signal 110 is caused by the first microprocessor of processing structure 135 to flash green. In this embodiment, padlock device 100 also creates and stores a history record in processor-readable internal memory for the fingerprint identifier associated with the fingerprint (step 1512). In this embodiment, the history recordset maintains the sequence of successful accesses (ie, each time the shackle is successfully released from its locked condition) in the history records. In this embodiment, the history record simply stores the fingerprint identifier used for successful accesses, in access sequence. In alternative embodiments, where the padlock device 100 is capable of date/time tracking, a timestamp of the date/time of successful access may be included in the history log. In alternative embodiments, the history record may also include location information for successful access in the event that the lock device 100 incorporates a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or is otherwise capable of discern your physical location. For example, if lock device 100 is positioned on the back door of a haul truck, it may be useful to record information about where in its journeys (origin, destination or somewhere in between) it was successfully unlocked.

[084] On the other hand, if in step 1508, the received fingerprint does not match any of the locally stored fingerprint templates, then the padlock device 100 must not be unlocked, and the motor 162 will not be triggered; in this mode, LED signal 110 will flash red (step 1514). To prevent aggressive padlock operations, five consecutive failed attempts would lead to a shutdown of padlock device 100.

delete fingerprints

[085] Figure 16 is a flowchart showing steps in a method 1600 for deleting one or more fingerprints from the padlock device 100. In this embodiment, the authorized manager/owner is able to view a list of user profiles and lists of fingerprints belonging to those user profiles stored in lock device 100 (See Figures 13 and 13A). In this embodiment, an owner can manage and delete one or more specific fingerprints from the padlock device 100, from the mobile device 800 or from the online database on a remote server based on his fingerprint identifier.

[086] After authentication of the owner (step 1602), the owner selects a user profile from a list of user profiles (step 1604); the owner then selects a fingerprint to delete from a list of fingerprints under the selected user profile (step 1606). In step 1608, the software application then sends the corresponding fingerprint identifier of the selected fingerprint as well as a delete command to the management interface of padlock device 100. In step 1610, padlock device 100 fetches and deletes the fingerprint ID and the fingerprint template associated with the fingerprint ID from the padlock's local memory. In one embodiment, the padlock device 100 can fetch and disable the fingerprint identifier and the fingerprint template associated with the fingerprint identifier in the padlock's local memory. In step 1612, lock device 100 sends a feedback signal to the software application to notify of a successful delete action. The software application then removes (or disables) the fingerprint identifier and fingerprint data (for example, which finger fingerprint was deleted) from the online database on the remote server and updates the user interface to reflect the change in step 1614. The ability for an authorized owner/manager to delete individual fingerprints using the management interface is significantly more useful than having to wipe all fingerprints from 100 padlock device if an employee no longer has access and, henceforth having to reconstitute the set of authorized persons again.

delete user profile

[087] In this mode, the owner can delete a user profile and all fingerprints registered under that user profile. Figure 17 is a flow chart showing steps in a method 1700 for deleting one or more user profiles from the software application. After the owner has been successfully authenticated (step 1702), method 1700 proceeds to step 1704 where the owner selects the user profile to be deleted from a previously created list of user profiles for the lock device 100 (See Figure 13, screenshot of user profile list). In this mode, the list of user profiles is retrieved from the online database. The software application then sends each fingerprint identifier under that user profile as well as a delete command to lock device 100 (step 1706). Lock device 100 fetches and deletes the fingerprint IDs and fingerprint templates associated with each of the fingerprint IDs from the processor-readable internal memory of lock device 100 (step 1708). The padlock device 100 sends a feedback signal to the software application to notify of a successful delete action (Step 1710). The software application then removes the fingerprint IDs and fingerprint data (for example, which finger fingerprint was deleted) associated with each of the fingerprint IDs from the online database and updates the interface to reflect the change (step 1712). The ability for an authorized owner/manager to delete all individual fingerprints of an individual user (if the user has more than one) using the management interface is significantly more useful than having to wipe all fingerprints from the lock device 100 if an employee no longer has access and henceforth has to reconstitute the set of authorized persons again.

delete padlock

[088] In this mode, the owner can delete a padlock device 100 and all user profiles and fingerprints registered under that padlock device 100 from the owner account. In this embodiment, after a lock device 100 is deleted from an owner account, the lock device 100 can then go through the initialization process (See Figure 9) again to be registered for another owner account. After the owner has been successfully authenticated (step 1802), method 1800 proceeds to step 1804 where the owner selects lock device 100 to delete from the list of lock devices 100 previously registered to the owner account (See Figure 13, screenshot of the list of locks registered under the owner account). In this embodiment, the list of lock devices 100 is retrieved from the online database. In this embodiment, the list of lock devices 100 is stored locally on mobile device 800. The software application then sends a factory reset command to lock device 100 (step 1806). The lock device 100 deletes all fingerprint ID data, fingerprint templates, key1, key2, user-related data, and any additional information stored after the initiation process (other than information intended to remain, such as SN, firmware updates, etc.) from the processor-readable internal memory of lock device 100 (step 1808). The padlock device 100 sends a feedback signal to the software application to notify of a successful delete action (Step 1810). Then, the software application removes fingerprint IDs, fingerprint data (for example, which finger fingerprint was deleted) and other information associated with the deleted padlock device 100 from the online database and updates the interface to reflect the change (step 1812).

Access history recovery

[089] In this embodiment, the padlock device 100 can provide access history records to the mobile device 800 to be displayed or used. The management interface of the padlock device 100 allows the mobile device 800, once authorized, to instruct the processing structure 135 of the padlock device 100 to provide the history records or at least a subset thereof. Figure 19 is a flowchart showing steps in a method 1900 whereby the software application retrieves access history stored on the padlock device 100. In step 1902, the software application will encourage the user to log in using credentials (e.g. example, one or more of a username, email address, password or the like) provided during registration. In step 1904, padlock device 100 is connected with and authorizes mobile device 800 in the manner that is demonstrated in method 1000. In this embodiment, padlock device 100 then sends all access history, including but not limited to , the fingerprint ID, the access string, the access timestamp, the access location and type information for the software application (step 1906). In this mode, the padlock device 100 sends only the access history information that has not been flagged as read. Each time the software application receives access history information, a login entry is uploaded to the online database with a timestamp. Access logs sent from padlock device 100 will also be flagged as read from padlock device 100. The software application then uploads the received information to the online database and updates existing records, if any ( stage 1908). In this embodiment, fingerprint IDs from retrieved access history can be matched with fingerprint IDs and associated user profiles and lock profiles in the online database and displayed to the owner in chronological order. Figure 20 is a front view of mobile device 800 displaying a software application user interface for displaying a fingerprint unlocking access history list.

battery information

[090] In this embodiment, the padlock device 100 can send battery information (or batteries, or other power supply), including, but not limited to, voltage, current, resistance, to the mobile device 800. padlock device 100 allows mobile device 800, once authorized, to instruct the processing structure 135 of padlock device 100 to provide the battery information or at least a subset thereof. This information can then be used to calculate and output information to enhance the user experience (for example, percentage of power supply remaining 808 as shown in Figure 8, power supply conditions, potential hardware damage, and similar).

access privileges

[091] In this modality, the software application allows personalized privileges for different users. In this embodiment, the custom privileges apply to users whose fingerprint data is not stored in the local memory of the padlock device 100. For example, the owner can set the software application to only allow access privileges to certain users at certain times of the day or certain days of the week. For example, the owner can allow his friend to only unlock 100 padlock device on weekends. In this mode, updating access privileges requires authentication by the owner.

User interface: lock list

[092] Figure 20A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the user interface for the software application that operates on the mobile device 800 when one or more devices are registered for an owner account. The owner is able to view a list 2002 of lock devices 100 identified by name (which can be customized by the owner), connection status 2004 of each lock device 100 listed with smartphone 800. By clicking on one of the devices listed, the corresponding open/closed status can be shown.

Morse code

[093] In this embodiment, the padlock device 100 can be unlocked using a method called "Morse code", without having to use biometric sensors, keys and external devices. Figure 21 is a flowchart showing steps in a method 2100 for setting Morse code using the padlock device 100. After successfully authenticating the owner (step 2102), the user can press the power button 116 of the padlock device 100 with long and/or short duration to create a combination (step 2114). In this mode, a code of up to 10 digits can be generated. In step 2116, the lock device 100 then converts the combination code into digital data and stores the digital data in the processor-readable internal memory of the lock device 100. Meanwhile, the lock device 100 transfers the same digital data to the software application for the purpose of performing storage backup in step 2108.

[094] Figure 21A is a front view of the mobile device 800 displaying a user interface for a software application for defining Morse code according to an alternative method. When pressing the 2010 button and the 2012 button in a custom order, the software application will create a combination code. The owner presses the save 2014 button and the combination is converted into digital data. The digital data is then transmitted to the lock device 100 for storage via the management interface in the processor-readable internal memory of the lock device 100.

[095] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing steps in a method 2200 for unlocking the lock device 100 using Morse code. The user presses the power button 116 three times to shift the padlock device 100 into Morse code mode (step 2202). In this embodiment, the user then presses the power button 116 in a custom 10-digit combination of long and short durations (step 2204). The combination is converted to digital data (step 2206). The digital data is compared with the digital data stored in the processor-readable internal memory of the padlock device 100 (step 2208); if the data matches, padlock device 100 is unlocked at step 2210. In this embodiment, processing structure 135 in padlock device 100 causes motor 162 to release locks 155 and allow shackle 102 to be ejected from channels 132 , 154 (step 2210); in this mode, LED signal 110 will flash green; lock device 100 then creates and adds a history record for the fingerprint ID associated with the fingerprint (step 2212). In this mode, the history record maintains the access sequence in the history records. In this embodiment, the history log does not store the access date/time timestamp, the history log is simply a sequential list of fingerprint identifiers in the order in which the successful accesses occurred. In alternative embodiments, where the padlock device 100 is capable of tracking the date/time, the history log may also store the timestamp of the access date/time and, where the padlock device 100 is capable of discerning its location, the access location. If at step 2214 the received fingerprint does not match any one of the locally stored fingerprints, then the padlock device 100 must not be unlocked and the motor 162 will not be driven so that the padlock device 100 does not unlock; in one mode, LED signal 110 flashes red.

Multiple fingerprint authentication

[096] In this embodiment, the systems and methods disclosed herein use multilayer fingerprint authentication protocols in order to place the padlock device 100 in a release condition. That is, in order to authenticate an account, fingerprints of more than one user may be required to be provided sequentially, possibly from multiple locations. For example, unlocking the padlock device 100 according to some embodiments may require more than one user to provide a fingerprint. In one embodiment, such permission may be obtained by software application sending an alert to each of the required user's mobile devices, encouraging each user to perform fingerprint authentication remotely from the padlock device sensor 802.

storage security

[097] It should be appreciated from the examples in this document that, in some embodiments, none of the identification data is stored locally on any mobile device 800. Any encrypted data is stored in an online database and thus the loss of mobile device 800 would not result in the security of the lock being compromised. Furthermore, since use of the software application on any mobile device requires authentication, the systems and methods described in this document can provide a robust security system that is resistant to tampering.

[098] Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication device, according to an embodiment. As depicted, mobile communication device 2300 is a smartphone and includes a processor 2302. Processor 2302 may be an Intel x86 processor, an ARM processor, or the like. Processor 2302 is interconnected with a memory 2304 and persistent storage 2306. Processor 2302 is further interconnected with one or more display devices 2308 and one or more input devices 2310, such as a touch panel, keyboard, or the like.

[099] The processor 2302 may be further interconnected with a plurality of communications radios. For example, mobile communication device 2300 may have at least one cellular radio 2312 for voice or data communications over a wireless network. Processor 2302 may also be interconnected with a Wi-Fi radio 2314, a Bluetooth radio 2316, and a near field communication (NFC) radio 2318. Cellular radio 2312 may be operable, for example, to interface with the mobile communication device over a 2G/3G/4G/LTE GSM or CDMA cellular network. The Wi-Fi radio 2314 may be operable to wirelessly interface the mobile communication device 2300 to a local area network, for example, using IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards. The Bluetooth radio 2316 is operable to interface the mobile communication device 2300 with neighboring Bluetooth devices, such as a lock device, in accordance with a Bluetooth protocol, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The NFC radio 2318 may be operable to behave over any of a plurality of standard NFC protocols. The NFC radio 2318 may be capable of operating in a variety of different modes, including NFC card emulation modes, NFC reader/writer modes, and NFC peer-to-peer modes. One or more of cellular radio 2312, Wi-Fi radio 2314, Bluetooth radio 2316 and NFC radio 2318 may be capable of receiving signals according to corresponding wireless communication protocols and reporting an associated signal strength.

[0100] In this embodiment, one or more mobile communication device components 2300 are formed as portions of a single semiconductor matrix (die), referred to as a "system on chip". Alternatively, components can be formed as separate semiconductor arrays, communicating over one or more buses on a circuit board.

[0101] The mobile device 2300 can operate under the control of software stored in the storage 2306 and executed by the processor 2302. Figure 24 is a block diagram showing software components in the mobile communication device of Figure 23. The software components can include an operating system 2320 such as Apple iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, Linux or the like. Operating system 2320 may interface with hardware components of mobile communication device 2300 via drivers 2322. A plurality of software applications 2324 may operate within operating system 2320. Operating system 2320 may provide software applications 2324 with access to the low-level (e.g., hardware) functions of the mobile communication device 2300 via application programming interfaces (APIs).

[0102] By way of example, software applications 2324 may include a telephone dialer, an email client, an internet browser, messaging software applications, social media software applications, media players and the like . Software applications 2324 may further include one or more software applications for interfacing with lock device 100 and for moving data to online databases. Such software applications 2324 may, for example, toggle components such as cellular radio 2312, Wi-Fi radio 2314, Bluetooth radio 2316 and NFC (near field communication) radio 2316 ON or OFF. Software applications 2324 can further enable or disable other software applications to operate or enable or disable specific files or file types to be opened.

[0103] In alternative embodiments, the processing structure may incorporate other components, such as built-in Bluetooth and/or NFC and/or WiFi radio components, thus integrating such components with the processing structure instead of being separate components .

[0104] In this embodiment, the software applications 2324 include a software application, as described above, to collect user information, provide an account identifier, collect one or more of a user's fingerprint and convert the fingerprint into a encrypted user identifier. In one embodiment, software applications 2324 prevent mobile device 2300 from storing any of the account or user identifiers in persistent storage 2306 on mobile device 2310 and will only allow mobile device 2310 to transmit those identifiers to an online database.

[0105] Embodiments of the systems and methods described in this document can be implemented in hardware or software or a combination of both. These embodiments may be implemented in computer programs that execute on programmable computers, each computer including at least one processor, a data storage system (which includes volatile memory or non-volatile memory or other data storage elements, or a combination thereof ) and at least one communication interface. For example, and without limitation, the various programmable computers can be a server, a game machine, a network appliance, a set-top box, an embedded device, a computer expansion module, a personal computer, a desktop computer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant, mobile phone, smartphone device, UMPC tablet computers and wireless hypermedia device, or any other computing device capable of being configured to perform the methods described in this document.

[0106] The programming code is applied to enter data to perform the functions described in this document and to generate output information. Output information is applied to one or more output devices in a known manner. In some embodiments, the communication interface may be a network communication interface. In embodiments in which elements of the invention are combined, the communication interface may be a software communication interface, such as those for inter-process communication. In still other embodiments, there may be a combination of communication interfaces implemented as hardware, software, and combinations thereof.

[0107] Each program can be implemented in a high-level procedure or object-oriented programming or scripting language or a combination thereof, to communicate with a computer system. However, alternatively, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. The language can be compiled or interpreted language. Each such computer program may be stored on a storage medium or a device (e.g., ROM, magnetic disk, optical disk), readable by a programmable general purpose or special purpose computer, for configuring and operating the computer when the medium or storage device are read by the computer to perform the procedures described in this document. Embodiments of the system may also be envisaged to be implemented as a non-transient, computer-readable storage medium configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions functions described in this document.

[0108] Furthermore, the systems and methods of the described embodiments are capable of being distributed in a computer program product that includes a physical computer-readable, non-transient storage medium that carries computer-executable instructions for one or more processors. The medium may be provided in a variety of ways, including one or more floppy disks, non-volatile memory and the like. Non-transient computer readable storage medium may include all computer readable media with the exception of being a transient propagation signal. The term non-transient is not intended to exclude computer-readable storage media, such as primary memory, volatile memory, RAM, and so on, where data stored therein can only be temporarily stored. Computer-executable instructions can also come in many forms, including compiled and uncompiled code.

[0109] Throughout the previous discussion, several references will be made in relation to servers, services, interfaces, portals, platforms or other systems formed from computing devices. It should be appreciated that use of such terms is reserved to represent one or more computing devices that have at least one processor configured to execute software instructions stored on a tangible non-transient computer-readable medium. For example, a server may include one or more computers that operate as a web server, database server, or other type of computer server in order to fulfill the roles, responsibilities, or functions described. It should further be appreciated that the disclosed computer-based algorithms, processes, methods, or other types of instruction sets may be embedded as a computer program product comprising a tangible non-transient computer-readable medium that stores the instructions that cause a processor performs the disclosed steps. It should be appreciated that the systems and methods described herein may involve interconnected networks of hardware devices configured to receive data using receivers, transmit data using transmitters, and transform electronic data signals using specially configured processors.

[0110] The foregoing discussion has provided many exemplary embodiments of the subject matter of the invention. While each embodiment represents a single combination of elements of the invention, the subject matter of the invention is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements. Accordingly, if one embodiment comprises elements A, B and C and a second embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the subject matter of the invention is also deemed to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.

[0111] As used herein and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (where two elements that are coupled to each other are in contact with each other ) and indirect coupling (where at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms "coupled with" and "coupled with" are used interchangeably.

[0112] The software and hardware enhancements described in this document can be performed using any type of computer, including portable devices, such as smartphones, that can access a location or a network portal via the internet or another communication route (by example, a LAN or a WAN).

[0113] The modalities described above can be implemented in any of several ways. For example, modalities can be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, software code may run on any suitable processor or collection of processors, provided on a single computer or distributed among multiple computers. Such processors may be implemented as integrated circuits, with one or more processors on an integrated circuit component. A processor can be implemented using circuitry in any suitable format.

[0114] Additionally, it should be appreciated that a computer can be incorporated in any number of ways, such as a rack-mounted computer, a desktop-type computer, a laptop-type computer, or a tablet-type computer. Additionally, a computer may be embedded in a device not generally thought of as a computer but with adequate processing capabilities, including an EGM, a Web TV, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a tablet-type computer, or any other device. other suitable portable or stationary electronic device.

[0115] In addition, a computer may have one or more input and output devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to provide a user interface include printers or display screens for visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of input devices that can be used for a user interface include keyboards and pointing devices such as mice, touch pads, and scanning tablet computers. As another example, a computer can receive input information through speech recognition or in other audible formats.

[0116] Such computers may be interconnected by one or more networks in any suitable way, including a local area network or a wide area network, such as a corporate network or the Internet. Such networks can be based on any suitable technology and can operate according to any suitable protocol and can include wireless networks, wired networks or fiber optic networks.

[0117] The various methods or processes outlined in this document may be coded as software that is executable on one or more processors employing any of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools and may also be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that runs in a framework or virtual machine.

[0118] In this regard, enhancements to game components may be incorporated as a tangible non-transient computer-readable storage medium (or multiple computer-readable storage mediums) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy disks , compact discs (CD), optical discs, digital video discs (DVD), magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other tangible computer readable non-transient storage media ) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments discussed above. The computer-readable medium or media may be transportable so that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement various aspects as discussed above. As used herein, the term "computer-readable non-transient storage medium" only encompasses a computer-readable medium that can be considered to be a manufacture (i.e., an article of manufacture) or a machine.

[0119] The terms "application", "program" or "software" are used in this document in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of instructions executable by computer that can be used to program a computer or another processor to implement various aspects of the present invention, as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that, in accordance with an aspect of this embodiment, one or more computer programs that, when executed, perform methods as described herein need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a manner modular among several different computers or processors to implement various aspects.

[0120] Computer-executable instructions can take many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of program modules can be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

[0121] Furthermore, data structures may be stored on computer-readable media in any suitable form. To simplify the illustration, data structures can be shown as having fields that are related through location in the data structure. Such relationships can likewise be achieved by assigning storage to the fields with locations on a computer-readable medium that carries the relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a relationship between information in fields of a data structure, including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms that establish a relationship between data elements.

[0122] Various aspects of the present game enhancements may be used individually, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and are therefore not limited in this application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the description mentioned above or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment can be combined in any way with aspects described in other embodiments. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, changes and modifications can be made.

[0123] For example, although the biometric sensor 108 of the padlock device 100 has been described in embodiments as a capacitive type fingerprint sensor, alternatives are possible. For example, an optical type fingerprint sensor can be employed. Furthermore, the biometric sensor 108 may be some other type of sensor, such as a retinal scanner for scanning a user's retina instead of their fingerprint. Different processing algorithms to process retinal image data versus detected fingerprint data would be required and additional processing power may be required for them, but the various data structures and the general structure would be quite similar to those described above.

[0124] In an alternative embodiment, a lock device according to the invention does not incorporate a biometric sensor 108. Instead, opening the lock device can be done in another way, such as via authorized communications between a device external device and such lock device, or via some external biometric sensor 108 which can authenticate the user and instruct the lock device to enter release condition.

[0125] In an alternative embodiment, a padlock device according to the invention does not incorporate a rechargeable battery that is rechargeable through a charging port and instead incorporates a non-rechargeable battery that can be replaced by a user.

[0126] In an alternative embodiment, the processing structure of the padlock device can incorporate multiple processors coordinated to collectively process fingerprint data and manage the control system or each processor can be dedicated to a separate function, as required by the needs of project.

[0127] The management interface presented by the padlock device 100 has been described in embodiments in the present document as an access point (authorized) to the padlock device 100 that is in some form of an application programming interface that presents “calls from function” available for enabling an external device that is authorized to communicate with the padlock device 100 to, for example, enroll a new fingerprint, delete an individual fingerprint, request access history, unlock the padlock device 100, and the like , without the external device having to know precisely how the lock device 100 is implemented. This provides a layer of abstraction which is useful in that the external device does not have to know much about the underlying implementation details of the lock device 100 (such as the instruction set for the processing framework 135 or the processor-readable internal memory memory) in order to perform functions and request information as required. This also enables the padlock device 100 in some embodiments to have some management relationship to its own security rather than being completely transparent to, and manipulable by, an external device. However, alternatives are possible. For example, an alternative management interface implementation may be less abstract, serving substantially as an authorized access point through which the external device may, for example, send instructions using the processing framework's particular instruction set 135 and/or can send and receive data directly to and from processor-readable internal memory to manage individual fingerprints.

[0128] Although in described embodiments the processing structure comprises two microprocessors working together in a master-slave relationship, with the second microprocessor being used primarily for fingerprint-related tasks, alternatives are possible. For example, in alternative embodiments, the second microprocessor could be provisioned to be more involved in unlocking functions, such as operating the lock subsystem in response to detection of a release condition. In another alternative embodiment, the processing structure can include only one microprocessor for all functions or it can include more than two microprocessors working in coordination.

Claims (29)

1. Padlock device (100) having a housing (104) and a shackle (102) associated with the housing (104) and having, with respect to the housing (104), a closed configuration and an open configuration, the locking device padlock characterized in that it comprises: a locking subsystem associated with the housing (104) for securely retaining the shackle (102) in the closed configuration, the electrically operable locking subsystem for releasing the shackle (102); a biometric sensor (108) associated with the housing (104) for electronically detecting fingerprint data from a finger that is detected; a control subsystem in the housing (104) in communication with the biometric sensor and the lock subsystem, the control subsystem comprising: processor-readable internal memory configured to store one or more fingerprint records, each fingerprint record comprising authorized fingerprint data associated with a respective fingerprint identifier; processing structure (135) configured to receive detected fingerprint data from the biometric sensor and to cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle (102) in the event of a release condition that requires at least that data detected fingerprint data matches the authorized fingerprint data in at least one of the fingerprint registrations; the processing structure (135) configured to present a management interface accessible by an external device that is in authorized communication with the lock device (100) for selectively: storing one or more fingerprint records in processor-readable internal memory; and deleting or disabling one or more fingerprint records stored in processor-readable internal memory based on at least one or more respective fingerprint identifiers provided by the external device; wherein authorized communication between an external device and the padlock device (100) is established based on at least one authentication string that is generated, again, in response to each connection being established between the external device and the padlock . 2. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing structure (135) is configured to present the management interface accessible by the external device that is in authorized communication with the padlock device (100) to selectively stop: causing the lock subsystem to release the shackle (102) without the control subsystem being in release condition. 3. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing structure (135) is configured to automatically create and store at least one history record in the internal memory readable by processor each Once the shackle (102) is released, each history record comprises a fingerprint identifier. 4. Padlock device (100), according to claim 3, characterized in that each history record additionally comprises at least one of: date/time information and location information. 5. Padlock device (100), according to claim 3, characterized in that the management interface is accessible by the external device that is in authorized communication with the padlock device (100) to selectively: provide at least one subset of the history records for the authorized external device. 6. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the padlock device (100) is powered by at least one battery (164) and the management interface is accessible by the external device that is in authorized communication with the lock device (100) for selectively: providing information about the at least one battery (164) to the authorized external device. 7. Padlock device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control subsystem comprises a wireless transceiver for communicating wirelessly with an external device. 8. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one fingerprint record is stored in association with one or more authorized time windows, in which the release condition additionally requires , that a time in which the detected fingerprint data is detected by the biometric sensor falls within one or more authorized time windows for the at least one corresponding fingerprint record. 9. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the release condition additionally requires that additional detected fingerprint data be detected by the biometric sensor and that additional detected fingerprint data match the authorized fingerprint data in at least one other of the fingerprint registrations. 10. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one authentication string is generated, again, for or by the external device using information stored remotely from the external device and the lock device (100). 11. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing structure (135) generates the fingerprint identifier. 12. Padlock device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the fingerprint identifier for a new fingerprint registration is received from the external device via the management interface. 13. Padlock device (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the external device is a mobile device (800). 14. Padlock device (100), according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one authentication string is also generated, once again, by the padlock device (100) to thus establish communication authorized between the padlock device (100) and the external device based on at least one authentication string. 15. Padlock system characterized by the fact that it comprises: the padlock device (100) as defined in claim 1; and a non-transient processor-readable medium incorporating a set of instructions for provisioning an external device to conduct authorized communications with the padlock device (100), the instruction set comprising: instructions for presenting a user interface on the external device to enable an authorized manager conducting fingerprint record management for the padlock device (100); and instructions for accessing the lock device management interface (100) in accordance with the management. 16. Padlock system according to claim 15, characterized in that the instructions for accessing the management interface comprise: instructions for generating a new fingerprint identifier; and instructions for sending the new fingerprint identifier to the padlock device (100) via the management interface with an instruction for adding a new fingerprint record, the processing structure (135) of the padlock device (100) is configured to create and store a new fingerprint record using the new fingerprint identifier and fingerprint data coincidentally electronically detected by the biometric sensor of the padlock device (100). 17. Padlock system according to claim 15, characterized in that the instructions for accessing the management interface comprise: instructions for generating a new fingerprint identifier and capturing fingerprint data using the external device; and instructions for sending the new fingerprint identifier and the captured fingerprint data to the management interface with an instruction for adding a new fingerprint record, wherein the processing structure (135) of the padlock device (100) is configured to create and store a new fingerprint record using the new fingerprint identifier and fingerprint data sent from the external device. 18. Padlock system, according to claim 15, characterized in that the instructions for accessing the management interface comprise: instructions for enabling the authorized manager to select a fingerprint identifier; and instructions for sending the selected fingerprint identifier to the management interface with an instruction for deleting or disabling a corresponding fingerprint record stored in the processor-readable memory of the lock device (100). 19. Processor-implemented method for operating a padlock device (100) having a housing (104) and a shackle (102) associated with the housing (104), the shackle (102) having, with respect to the housing (104) , a closed configuration and an open configuration, the method characterized in that it comprises: storing one or more fingerprint records in a processor-readable internal memory of the padlock device (100), each fingerprint record comprising fingerprint data authorized fingerprint associated with a respective fingerprint identifier; causing a locking subsystem associated with the housing (104) to securely retain the shackle (102) in the closed configuration; causing a biometric sensor (108) to electronically detect fingerprint data from a finger that is detected; in the event of a release condition that requires at least the detected fingerprint data to match the authorized fingerprint data in at least one of the fingerprint records, causing the lock subsystem to release the shackle (102 ) to thus enable the shackle (102) to be in the open configuration; present a management interface accessible by at least one external device that is in authorized communication with the padlock device (100) that enables the external device to selectively: store one or more fingerprint records in processor-readable internal memory; and deleting or disabling one or more fingerprint records stored in processor-readable internal memory based on at least one or more respective fingerprint identifiers provided by the external device, wherein authorized communication between an external device and the padlock device (100) is established based on at least one authentication string that is generated, again, in response to each connection being established between the external device and the padlock. 20. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that it additionally comprises: presenting the management interface accessible by the external device to selectively cause the lock subsystem to release the shackle (102). 21. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that it further comprises: creating and storing at least one history record each time the shackle (102) is released, each history record comprising a fingerprint identifier. 22. Method, according to claim 21, characterized in that each history record additionally comprises at least one of: date/time information and location information. 23. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that it additionally comprises: providing at least a subset of the historical records for the authorized external device. 24. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that it further comprises: presenting the management interface accessible by the external device to selectively provide information about at least one battery (164) that powers the padlock device (100 ) to the authorized external device. 25. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that it additionally comprises: the padlock device (100) that communicates wirelessly with the external device via the management interface. 26. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that at least one fingerprint record is stored in association with one or more authorized time windows, further comprising: determining the release condition that includes determining whether a time in which the detected fingerprint data is detected by the biometric sensor falls within one or more authorized time windows for the at least one corresponding fingerprint record. 27. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that it further comprises: determining the release condition which includes determining whether additional detected fingerprint data required to be detected by the biometric sensor corresponds to authorized fingerprint data in at least at least one other among the fingerprint records. 28. Method according to claim 19, characterized in that the at least one external device is a mobile device (800). 29. Method, according to claim 19, characterized in that the at least one authentication string is also generated, once again, by the padlock device (100) to thus establish authorized communication between the security device padlock (100) and external device based on at least one authentication string.