FI3889940T3 - Remote control with integrated biometric sensor and alarm system including same - Google Patents

Claims (7)

1. Remote control with integrated biometric sensor and alarm system in- cluding same Description The present invention concerns the field of the secure and authorized control of systems or equipment by prior authentication of the user, in particular in the context of secure and/or intelligent buildings, and relates to a secure-use remote control, an alarm/surveillance system comprising at least one such re- mote control, and a method for controlling such a system. See, for example, publication EP 2 925 035 which discloses a remote control secured by use of a fingerprint sensor which allows the activation/deactivation of an alarm system. Currently, three types of dedicated means are primarily implemented to con- trol or monitor a closure, home automation or alarm system, namely remote controls, keypads and readers. Each of these types has advantages and disad- vantages. Thus, in addition to possible remote control (but nevertheless within a limited perimeter), the remote control may be multipurpose and easy to use: one or more actions of the controlled system or means may be associated with each key or button, for example depending on different pressing durations or par- ticular combinations of keys (change in surveillance state, activation/deacti- vation, warning, opening/closing, starting a device, sending a notification,

   etc.). The remote control is in general entrusted to a single user and it is conse- quently necessary to have as many remote controls as there are users. Identi- fication of the user is limited to the controlled system or equipment recogniz- ing the remote control.

   Fraudulent use of the remote control is therefore potentially possible (in the event of theft or loss) provided that the lost or stolen remote control is not deleted from the authorized control means of the system or equipment in ques- — tion, this possibly being extremely critical when the controlled system is an alarm or surveillance system.

   The keypad, for its part, allows more secure identification of the users by as-

   sociating a secret code with each of them.

   The system or eguipment may then be monitored only by associating the secret code of an authorized user with the reguests to change state, with the actions to be carried out.

   By virtue of the system or equipment recognizing the secret code, it is possible to authenticate the user, to verify their permissions and to authorize, or not, the actions or changes.

   However, authentication of the user is fundamentally based on the user safe-

   guarding and absolutely not disclosing their secret code and requires the user to be physically present at the keypad.

   Finally, badge readers, for their part, have some of the disadvantages of the two aforementioned types, namely fraudulent use of the badge in the event of loss or theft and the need for the user to be physically present at the reader, and furthermore sophisticated monitoring or control is not possible but is lim- ited to simply identifying the badge (not necessarily the wearer) and to giving the wearer authorization.

   Of course, access authorization functions may also be integrated in smartphones, where appropriate associated with biometric recognition func- tions, which may then ensure a secondary role of access monitoring.

   However,

   this entails non-dedicated devices, the use of which is not often intuitive nor easy to understand and which are furthermore expensive.

   Furthermore, their lifetime is limited and replacing them requires reconfiguration of and refamil- iarization with the access monitoring element function.

   The aim of the present invention is to propose a sophisticated, dedicated re- mote control for which the risk of fraudulent use is eliminated (in particular in the event of loss or theft) but which keeps the simplicity and the specificity of use of this type of means.

   Moreover, it should make it possible to identify its user in a secure manner.

   To this end, the invention relates to a remote control according to the preamble of Claim 1 and having in combination the features of the characterizing part of this claim.

   The invention will be better understood thanks to the description hereinbelow which relates to a preferred embodiment, given by way of non-limiting exam- ple, and explained with reference to the attached schematic drawings in which:

   [Fig. 1] is a functional block diagram of a remote control according to the invention; [Fig. 2] is a plan view of one practical embodiment of a remote control ac- cording to the invention; [Fig. 3] is a perspective view of the remote control from Figure 2; [Fig. 4] is a sectional view of a design variant of the remote control shown in Figures 2 and 3; and

   [Fig. 5]1s a detail view, on another scale, of a part of the remote control shown in Figure 4. Figures 1 to 5 all show, some only in part or symbolically, a remote control 1 for remotely controlling at least one surveillance or anti-intrusion alarm sys- tem 2, optionally integrated in a home automation system, of a premises, a flat, a house, a block of flats or a similar building or site that is accessible to people, said remote control 1 comprising one or more touch-type and/or press- operated control elements 3, 3?, 377, 377’. Said remote control 1 incorporates functionally autonomous and independent means 4, 5, 6 for authenticating or identifying the user, these means compris- ing at least one biometric sensor 4 and monitoring the operational activation of the remote control 1, the execution of at least one function of the latter and/or the triggering of at least one action in the controlled system or means
2. 2. In accordance with the invention, the biometric sensor 4 at least present con- sists of a fingerprint reader which is linked to or integrated in a control ele- ment 3, for example a button or a key, monitoring the deactivation of said system 2. Moreover, the authentication means further comprise, firstly, a local memory 6 storing data relating to at least one fingerprint of at least one au- thorized person and, secondly, a means 5 for comparing a fingerprint read by the reader 4 with said stored data and for selectively providing activation, — execution or triggering authorization. The provision of a biometric sensor 4 integrated in the remote control 1 allows the wearer of the remote control 1 to be authenticated/identified in a simple manner without a code and with a very high degree of selectivity and in this — way gives said remote control a high level of use authorization security with- out the need for conscious action on the part of the wearer.

   Furthermore, due to their autonomous and independent nature, the authenti- cation/identification means do not require any link to any complementary ex- ternal means in order to ensure their proper functioning, neither in terms of power supply nor in terms of information or reference data (no remote con- 5 nection required to carry out the authentication/identification operation). Of course, other types of biometric sensors may be envisaged, by way of ad- dition, in order to increase the level of use security of the remote control 1 even further, such as sensors for morphological features [fingerprints iris,

   venous networks (retina)] or for behavioural features (voice), as long as they are suited to integration in a remote control 1.

   By integrating the biometric sensor 4 in the form of a fingerprint reader in one 3 of the press-operated or touch-type digital control elements 3, 3°, 3”, 3??

   dedicated to activating the remote control 1, to executing a specific function of the latter or else to triggering a particular action in the controlled system or means 2, in particular to deactivating the controlled system, space is saved and a remote control with smaller dimensions is provided.

   Preferentially, the element 3 integrating the sensor 4 is of a sufficient size to be contacted by the entirety of the fingerprint of a finger and is associated with an essential, primary or basic function of the remote control 1, such as the deactivation of the controlled system.

   In accordance with one special application of the invention, the controlled system 2 is a surveillance or anti-intrusion alarm system and the biometric sensor 4, preferentially in the form of a fingerprint reader, is linked to or in- tegrated in a control element 3, for example a button or a key, monitoring the deactivation of said system 2 (cf.

   Figures 2 and 3).

   Specifically, for this type of security system, the deactivation is generally the first action carried out by the user and also the most significant, and the sensor

   4 may thus, following a same and unique gesture by the user, monitor their authorization to deactivate and simultaneously carry out this operation if the authentication/identification operation is conclusive (and otherwise blocks the control).

   Once this authentication step has been successfully completed, the user is au- thorized to validly actuate each of the other elements 3°, 3”, 377’. Nevertheless, the valid actuation of the key 3 integrating the sensor 4 could be subject to a positive identification/authentication, for each occurrence with a view to validating an associated function.

   In accordance with another application of the invention, the controlled system 2 may be a multi-functional home automation system (integrating an alarm system) and the biometric sensor 4, preferentially in the form of a fingerprint reader, is linked to or integrated in a control element 3, for example a button or key, monitoring a security action or function, in particular the deactivation of a surveillance/security/alarm component, in the system 2 or in the remote control 1.

   According to one advantageous practical realization of the remote control 1, the control element 3 consists of a key that is actuated by pressing and the biometric sensor 4 is installed in said key 3 and is positioned, dimensioned and configured in such a way that the distal phalanx of a finger needs to be pressed onto the surface of said sensor 4 in order to actuate said key 3 (the pressing furthermore having to be sufficient for the actuation of the key 3 to be recognized — direct voluntary pressing). In order to ensure its autonomous functioning from the point of view of the information necessary to authenticate/identify the user, reference data are stored locally in the remote control 1.

   When the remote control 1 is for multiple users, it may be provided that the local memory 6 stores data relating to the fingerprints of at least two different people, it being possible for each of these people to have specific, mutually different authorization profiles, making it possible to customize the remote control 1 after the user has been identified.

   In order to increase the level of security even further, it may furthermore be provided that the local memory 6 stores data relating to at least two different fingerprints of the or each authorized user, it being possible for the operational activation of the remote control 1, the execution of at least one function of the latter and/or the triggering of at least one action in the controlled system 2 or means to be subject to the results of multiple comparisons for one and the same user, in particular of fingerprints of at least two different fingers that are determined.

   In order to inform the user, in particular when the biometric sensor 4, prefer- entially in the form of a fingerprint reader, is integrated in a press-operated or touch-type control element 3, such as a button or a key, this element 3 com- prises or is linked to at least one multicoloured illumination or lighting means 7, optionally making up part of a plurality of different coloured lighting means 7,7, 77°, installed in the casing 1” of the remote control 1 and indicating by its or their colour the state of the sensor 4 and/or the result of the authentica- tion operation, at least one such lighting means being optionally incorporated into the button or the key 3 itself.

   Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views illustrating one possible physical construc- tion of the remote control 1 according to the invention.

   The casing 1° is made up of two complementary half casings 10 and 10”, the — half casing 10 situated on top during the use of the remote control integrating the press-operated keys 3, 37,377,377".

   Housed in the casing 1” are a cell or battery 11 and a circuit board 12 bearing in particular pressure sensors 12° which are activated when the respectively associated keys 3, 37, 3??, 3??? are pressed.

   The casing 1’ is liquid-tight in the region where the two half casings 10 and 10” join.

   In order to achieve a similar tightness in the region of the keys 3, 3”, 3”, 3” and the sensor 4, the latter are isolated from the rest of the internal volume of the casing 1”, in particular containing the battery 11 and the board 12, by a flexible and easily deformable layer 13 extending between the keys and the pressure sensors 12? and forming a tight barrier compartmentalizing the internal volume of the casing 1°. The sensor 4, which simultaneously forms a functional key 3 of the remote control 1, is also able to transmit a pressure to an associated corresponding pressure sensor 12°, mounted on the board 12. Said sensor 4 may for example be of the type sold by one of the companies NEXT Biometrics (product reference: NB-2023-S2-V), Synaptics (product reference: FS4300) and Suprema (product reference: SFM3050). This sensor 4, or optionally its dedicated board, is furthermore connected by flexible ribbon wiring 14 (passing through the layer 13) to the microcontroller forming the comparison means 5 and mounted on the board 12. The latter may furthermore comprise a lighting LED making it possible to project a beam through a corresponding lens 15 shown in the rear half casing 10” of the re- mote control 1.

   The invention also relates to an anti-intrusion alarm system 2, in particular comprising a central unit 8 and various peripheral devices 9 linked to the cen- tral unit, it being possible for said central unit 8 to be at least partly managed or monitored by at least one remote control, this system being characterized in that said at least one remote control 1 is a remote control as described here-

   inabove.

   Finally, the invention also concerns a method for controlling an anti-intrusion alarm system 2 of the aforementioned type by way of a remote control 1 as described hereinabove, characterized in that it consists in automatically car- rying out authentication of the user as soon as said user touches or presses, with a finger, preferentially a thumb, a specific, press-operated or touch-type digital control element 3, such as a button or the like, dedicated to activating said remote control 1, to executing a specific function of the latter or else to triggering a particular action in the controlled system or means 2, and inte- grating the biometric sensor 4, preferentially in the form of a fingerprint — reader.

   Advantageously, the method may comprise one or more phases of recording, in the form of initial or update configuration, data relating to one or more fingerprints of one or more users associated with one or more specific, where — appropriate mutually different, authorization profiles, making it possible to customize the remote control 1 depending on the user in guestion.

   Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown in the attached drawings.

   Modifications remain possible, in particular from — the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substituting technical eguivalents, without however leaving the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the following claims.