JP2007257066A - Portable device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable device such as a notebook-type personal computer capable of securing security by preventing information leakage while maintaining the convenience of being usable in various locations. <P>SOLUTION: The portable device 1 detects its own position by means of a detection circuit (S101); extracts, from a database, information indicating whether or not the operation of each device (operating part) recorded in association with position information indicating the detected position is possible (S102); determines whether or not the operation of each device is possible according to the information extracted from the database indicating whether or not the operation of each device is possible (S103); and connects or disconnects a control circuit to or from each device according to the determination as to whether or not the operation is possible (S104). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable device such as a notebook personal computer including a plurality of operating units such as a hard disk and a communication interface, and more particularly to a portable device capable of enhancing safety related to information management.

  With the spread of portable devices such as notebook personal computers, you can carry one portable device and use it in multiple locations, such as business offices and homes, multiple business sites, and multiple rooms in business sites. Operational forms are increasing. On the other hand, leakage of information to the outside is regarded as a problem due to theft or misplacement.

Therefore, for example, various systems have been proposed in which safety is enhanced by performing entrance / exit management as shown in Patent Document 1. There has also been proposed a system that prohibits unauthorized computers from logging into the in-house LAN.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-4537

  However, when safety is enhanced by the conventional method, it is practically impossible to use one portable device at a plurality of locations, and there is a problem that convenience is impaired. In addition, there is a method of authenticating by a method such as a password input request and verification of the input password, but the fact that the password input screen is displayed tells a third party that important information is stored. It will also be. In other words, the password entry screen will motivate the third party to steal the portable device, and if the password entry screen is displayed on the stolen portable device, it will motivate the analysis of the recorded information. Will also give.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and detects the position of the device itself, and determines whether or not a device (operating unit) such as a hard disk or a communication interface can be operated based on the detected position. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable device that ensures safety while maintaining convenience.

  A portable device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a portable device comprising a plurality of operating parts, a detecting means for detecting the position of the own apparatus, and a means for determining whether or not each operating part can be operated based on the detected position. It is characterized by providing.

  In the present invention, by determining the operating portion that operates based on the detected position, even when used in a plurality of locations, it is possible to perform restrictions such as prohibiting the operation of the hard disk depending on the location, which impairs convenience. It is possible to ensure safety without any problems.

  A portable device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a portable device comprising a plurality of operating parts and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the operating parts, and records whether or not each of the operating parts can be operated in association with position information relating to the position. A control circuit and a switch circuit for connecting / disconnecting between each operation unit, detection means for detecting the position of the own device, position information on the position detected by the detection means, and recorded contents of the database It is characterized by comprising means for determining whether or not each of the operating parts can be operated, and means for controlling connection / disconnection of the switch circuit based on the determined result.

  In the present invention, by determining whether or not each operation unit can be operated based on the detected position, even when used in a plurality of locations, it is possible to restrict the operation of the hard disk depending on the location. It is possible to ensure safety without impairing performance.

  A portable device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the portable device according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the means for determining whether or not the position detected by the detecting means has changed, And a means for re-determining whether to operate.

  In the present invention, even when moving in an operating state, by re-determining whether or not each operating unit can be operated in a process such as execution of a restart process, for example, the hard disk is moved while being operated, and data is transferred to the outside. It is possible to prevent cheating such as taking out.

  The portable device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the method according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the detection means is configured to detect a position based on information received by wireless communication from outside. It is characterized by.

  In the present invention, it is possible to detect the position based on electromagnetic waves related to a system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), PHS (Personal Handy-phone system).

  The portable device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the second aspect, the portable device further comprises means for restarting the own device.

  In the present invention, whether or not each operation unit can be operated is re-determined by performing the restart. For example, it is possible to prevent an illegal act such as moving the hard disk while operating and taking out the data to the outside. Is possible.

  The portable device according to the present invention is applied to a device such as a notebook personal computer including a plurality of operating units such as a hard disk and a communication interface, detects the position of the own device, and based on the detected position, Decide whether or not to operate.

  With this configuration, in the present invention, even when a single portable device is carried and used in a plurality of locations such as a business office and a home, a plurality of business offices, and a plurality of rooms in a business office, the hard disk depending on the location. It is possible to restrict the use of information and prohibit the use of information, so it is possible to prevent the leakage of information and ensure safety while maintaining the convenience of using it in various places It has excellent effects such as being possible.

  In particular, the present invention can be applied to a nonvolatile recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a flash memory, or a CD-R when it is determined that the position of the own apparatus is in an area such as a room where a high level of safety is required. By prohibiting the recording of information, it can be used as a so-called thin client machine in a specific area, so that it is possible to prevent information from being taken intentionally or accidentally, to prevent information leakage and to ensure safety. It has excellent effects such as being possible.

  In the present invention, when it is determined that the position has changed, by re-determining whether or not each operation unit can be operated in a process such as execution of a restart process, for example, the hard disk is moved while being operated, It is possible to prevent an illegal act such as taking out the product to the outside.

  In the present invention, since the position of the device itself is detected and whether or not each operation unit can be operated is determined based on the detected position, for example, authentication of a password input screen or the like at a place other than a place where an official user exists It is also possible to prevent the display screen from being displayed. As a result, the third party cannot know that important information is stored, so there is no motivation for theft to the third party, and even if it is stolen, the recorded information can be analyzed. No motivation.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of use of the portable device of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a portable device such as a notebook personal computer. The portable device 1 is carried by a user to various places. FIG. 1 shows a situation in which the user uses the portable device 1 on each floor of the company building 100, an outing place 200, and a home 300. Each floor of the company building 100 is provided with a wireless radio wave transmitting device 101 that transmits weak radio waves that can be received only by the floor, and the portable device 1 receives radio waves transmitted from the wireless radio wave transmitting device 101. Is possible. In addition, the portable device 1 can receive radio waves transmitted from the GPS satellite 201 at the place of going out 200. Furthermore, the portable device 1 can receive radio waves transmitted from the wireless LAN access point 301 at home 300. The portable device 1 can detect the position of its own device by receiving these radio waves. As a method for detecting the position of the own device, not only the method illustrated in FIG. 1 but also a communication from the PHS base station and an entry / exit management system provided at the entrance / exit of the room where entry / exit is managed are transmitted. It is possible to detect the position of the own apparatus by various methods such as reception of radio waves and connection to a predetermined communication network such as an in-house LAN.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable device 1 of the present invention. The portable device 1 includes a control circuit 10 such as a CPU that controls the entire device, a detection circuit 11 that detects the position of the device itself, and a plurality of devices (operating units) 12 and 12 that operate based on the control of the control circuit 11. ,..., The control circuit 11 and the switch circuit 13 for connecting / disconnecting the devices 12, 12,..., And the operation of each device 12, 12,. And a database 14 that records whether or not it is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the detection circuit 11 receives various radio waves such as a radio wave transmitted from the wireless radio wave transmitting device 101, a radio wave transmitted from the GPS satellite 201, and a radio wave transmitted from the wireless LAN access point 301. In addition, it is a circuit that detects the position of its own device such as a floor, latitude and longitude, and home, and has a plurality of communication circuits corresponding to respective radio waves. The position of the device itself may be detected by a method such as connection to a predetermined communication network as well as transmission / reception of electromagnetic waves. The position of the own device detected by the detection circuit 11 is not limited to a position as a point indicated by latitude and longitude, for example, but indicates a position having a spatial extension such as indoors, indoors, and areas.

  The devices 12, 12,... Are, for example, built-in devices such as hard disks that are nonvolatile recording media, various expansion boards, communication interfaces such as 1000BASE-T LAN adapters, and external device connection interfaces based on standards such as IEEE 1394 and USB. Examples can be listed. In the case where the device 12 is a hard disk, the recording area may be divided into a plurality, and the physically one device 12 that is the hard disk may be logically handled as a plurality of devices 12, 12,.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing the recorded contents of the database 14 provided in the portable device 1 of the present invention. The database 14 is recorded as a record in which position information indicating the position is associated with whether each device 12, 12,. For example, when the position information is “L1”, the device 12 indicated by D1, D2, and D3 associated with “1” is operable, and the device indicated by D4 and D5 associated with “0”. 12 becomes inoperable. As the position information, for example, information such as information indicating the wireless radio wave transmitting apparatus 101 that can be received, information indicating a range of latitude and longitude, identification information of the wireless LAN received from the wireless LAN access point 301, or the like is used. The position information indicated as “unknown” indicates a state where the position cannot be detected by the detection circuit 11 or a state where the detected position is not recorded in another record of the database 14.

  Next, processing of the portable device 1 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing device operation availability determination processing of the portable device 1 of the present invention. At the time of activation, the portable device 1 detects the position of its own device by the detection circuit 11 under the control of the control circuit 10 (S101), and each device 12 recorded in association with the position information indicating the detected position. , 12,... Is extracted from the database 14 (S102). Based on the information indicating whether each device 12, 12,. It is determined whether or not the operation of ... is possible (S103). The time of activation in step S101 indicates a time when a basic input output system (BIOS) is activated and processes such as recognition and control regarding the devices 12, 12,. Therefore, it does not necessarily indicate only the time of starting from a state where power is not supplied, but includes the time of restarting, for example. It should be noted that the device operation availability determination process described here is executed as a pre-process for processes such as recognition and control related to the devices 12, 12,. In step S102 and step S103, the portable device 1 determines whether or not each device 12, 12,... Can be operated based on the position information related to the position detected by the detection circuit 11 and the recorded contents of the database 14.

  Under the control of the control circuit 10, the portable device 1 sends a signal indicating whether or not each device has been activated determined in step S103 to the switch circuit 13. The switch circuit 13 is based on the signal indicating whether or not the accepted operation is acceptable. Are connected / disconnected between the control circuit 10 and the devices 12, 12,... (S104). As described above, in step S104, the connection / disconnection by the switch circuit 13 is controlled based on the result determined in step S103, and the device 12 determined to be operable is connected to the control circuit 10 and determined to be inoperable. The device 12 is disconnected from the control circuit 10. The connection / disconnection in step S104 may be logically connected / disconnected instead of being physically / electrically connected / disconnected. That is, even if the control circuit 10 and the device 12 are physically and electrically connected by wiring via a bus, the switch circuit 13 logically disconnects the control circuit 10 and the device 12 to control the device. The circuit 10 does not recognize the device 12, and the operation of the device 12 based on the control of the control circuit 10 can be prohibited.

  As described above, the portable device 1 executes the device operation availability determination process at the time of activation, so that the portable device 1 can detect each of the devices 12, 12,... Based on the position of the own device detected by the detection circuit 11. Decide whether or not to operate.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the movement detection process of the portable device 1 of the present invention. The portable device 1 according to the present invention is activated by executing the device operation availability determination process, and then the change of the position detected by the detection circuit 11 at a predetermined cycle such as 1 second or 1 minute is controlled by the control circuit 10. The presence or absence is determined (S201). In step S201, the detection circuit 11 detects the position at a predetermined cycle, and determines whether or not the position has changed by determining whether or not the detected position is different from the previously detected position.

  If it is determined in step S201 that the position has changed (S201: YES), the portable device 1 re-determines whether each device can be operated under the control of the control circuit 10 (S202). In step S202, the portable device 1 is restarted as a process for re-determining whether the operation is possible, and a device-operation availability determination process is executed. If the control circuit 10 and each of the devices 12, 12,... Can be disconnected and the operation of each device 12, 12,. This process may be executed as the redetermination process in step S202.

  If it is determined in step S201 that the position has not changed (S201: NO), the portable device 1 returns to step S201 and repeats the subsequent processing after the time defined as the predetermined period has elapsed.

  By executing the movement detection process, even if the portable apparatus 1 of the present invention is started and moved in an operating state, whether or not each device can be operated is re-determined by a process such as a restart process. It will be. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent an illegal act such as moving the hard disk as the device 12 while operating and taking out the data to the outside.

  Next, a specific operation example of the portable device 1 of the present invention will be described. For example, when the portable device 1 of the present invention is used at home and office, two hard disks for home and office are used as the device 12, and the first hard disk and CD-ROM are used as the device 12 at home. There is a method in which the drive, the sound source board, and the graphic board can be operated, and the office can operate the communication interface connected to the second hard disk, the authentication device, and the in-house LAN as the device 12. In the case of such a usage method, the risk of leaking information can be reduced because the hard disk is properly used at home and at the office. Also, installation of application software, output of video and music, etc. are permitted using a CD-ROM drive, sound source board and graphic board at home, and on the contrary, these processes are prohibited at the office, and the authentication device is used. Unless authentication processing is performed, the operation and connection to the in-house LAN can be prohibited.

  Further, in the office, if it is detected that the device is located in a specific area such as a conference room where a high level of safety is required, a nonvolatile recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a flash memory, or a CD-R There is an operation mode in which the operation of the device 12 required for recording information on the device is disabled and only the communication interface is enabled. That is, in a specific area, the portable device 1 of the present invention can be used as a thin client machine, so that information is not taken out intentionally or accidentally, information leakage is prevented and safety is improved. It becomes possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the operation of each device is determined based only on the position detected by the detection circuit has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and whether the operation can be performed in consideration of factors other than the position. You may make it decide. For example, authentication processing such as biometric authentication may be combined, and whether or not each device can be operated may be determined based on the combination of the authentication processing result and position.

  In the above-described embodiment, a notebook personal computer is used as a portable device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various devices such as a mobile phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants). Is possible.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the usage example of the portable apparatus of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the portable apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally the recording content of the database with which the portable apparatus of this invention is provided. It is a flowchart which shows the device operation availability decision processing of the portable apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the movement detection process of the portable apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable apparatus 10 Control circuit 11 Detection circuit 12 Device (operation part)
13 Switch circuit 14 Database

Claims (5)

In a portable device comprising a plurality of operating parts,
Detecting means for detecting the position of the device itself;
And a means for determining whether or not each of the operating parts can be operated based on the detected position. In a portable device comprising a plurality of operating parts and a control circuit for controlling the operation of the operating parts,
A database that records whether or not each of the operating parts can be operated in association with position information about the position;
A switch circuit for connecting / disconnecting between the control circuit and each operating unit;
Detecting means for detecting the position of the device itself;
Means for determining whether or not each of the operating parts can be operated based on the position information relating to the position detected by the detecting means and the recorded content of the database;
And a means for controlling connection / disconnection of the switch circuit based on the determined result. Means for determining the presence or absence of a change in position detected by the detection means;
The portable device according to claim 1, further comprising means for re-determining whether or not each of the operating portions can be operated when it is determined that the position has changed.   The portable device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detection means is configured to detect a position based on information received by wireless communication from outside.   The portable device according to claim 2, further comprising means for restarting the device.

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