JP2008299449A - Security device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a security device of higher certainty. <P>SOLUTION: The security device includes a sensor capable of discriminating a binary value; a security key operated from the outside to the sensor; and a confirmation means for confirming that the result of detection of the security key matches a predetermined pattern. The security device includes a sensor capable of discriminating the binary value and comprising a magnetic sensor capable of discriminating an S-pole and an N-pole; a security key operated from the outside to the sensor; and a confirmation means for confirming that the result of detection of the security key matches a predetermined pattern. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a security device in a personal computer or the like.

  Various electronic security devices have been devised in electronic devices such as personal computers. For example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a key difference depending on the combination of the development patterns of the selected n magnet receiving holes and the directions of the N and S poles of the permanent magnets fitted in the magnet receiving holes. It is a magnet card that gets to.

This is characterized by the provision of N−n dummy out of N, however, there is a problem that it is low certainty to use only binary sense information to realize security. .
No. 7-28352

  An object of the present invention is to provide a security device with higher reliability.

  In order to solve the above problems, a security device according to the present invention includes a sensor capable of discriminating two values, a security key operated from the outside with respect to the sensor, and a detection result of the security key matches a predetermined pattern. It is characterized by comprising confirmation means for confirming that

  According to the present invention, a security device with higher reliability can be obtained.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below.

A security device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook personal computer 10 with a display unit opened as an example of a security device. That is, this security device is realized as a notebook personal computer 10.

  The computer 10 includes a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device including a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) 17.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position. The computer main body 11 has a thin box-shaped casing, and a keyboard 13, a power button 14 for turning on / off the computer 10, an input operation panel 15, a touch pad 16, and the like are arranged on the upper surface thereof. Has been.

  The input operation panel 15 is an input device that inputs an event corresponding to a pressed button, and includes a plurality of buttons for starting a plurality of functions. These button groups also include a TV start button 15A and a DVD / CD start button 15B. The TV start button 15A is a button for starting a TV function for reproducing and recording TV broadcast program data. When the TV activation button 15A is pressed by the user, a TV application program for executing the TV function is automatically activated.

In this computer, a general-purpose main operating system is installed.
When the power button 14 is pressed by the user, the main operating system is activated.
FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the personal computer 10 which is a security device.
As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 10 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge 112, a main memory 113, a graphics controller 114, a south bridge 119, a BIOS-ROM 120, a hard disk / optical disk drive (HDD / DVD) 121, a magnetic sensor. A unit 122, an embedded controller / keyboard controller (EC / KBC) 123, a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 124, a power supply circuit 125, and the like are provided.

  The CPU 111 is a processor provided to control the operation of the computer 10, and a main operating system / sub-operating system and various application programs loaded from the hard disk / optical disk drive (HDD / DVD) 121 to the main memory 113. Execute.

  The CPU 111 also executes a system BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. The system BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  The north bridge 112 that controls a relatively high-speed device is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 111 and the south bridge 119. The north bridge 112 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 113. The north bridge 112 also has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller 114 via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus or the like.

  The graphics controller 114 is a display controller that controls the LCD 17 used as a display monitor of the computer 10. The graphics controller 114 generates a display signal to be sent to the LCD 17 from video data written in a video memory (VRAM) (not shown).

  The south bridge 119 that controls a relatively low-speed device controls each device on an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus and each device on a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The south bridge 119 includes an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller for controlling the HDD / ODD 121. Further, the south bridge 119 has a function for controlling access to the BIOS-ROM 120.

  The HDD / ODD 121 is a storage device that stores various types of software and data on a hard disk, and is a drive unit that drives a storage medium such as a DVD or CD that stores video content. The magnetic sensor unit 122 is a unit having a function of transmitting, to the EC / KBC, a signal output that changes when an S pole and an N pole from the magnetic sensor are detected by an external operation.

  The embedded controller / keyboard controller (EC / KBC) 123 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard (KB) 13 and the touch pad 16 are integrated. The embedded controller / keyboard controller (EC / KBC) 123 has a function of powering on / off the computer 10 in accordance with the operation of the power button 14 by the user. Furthermore, the embedded controller / keyboard controller (EC / KBC) 123 can also power on the computer 10 in response to an operation of the TV start button 15A and the DVD / CD start button 15B by the user.

The above is an explanation centered on the outline of the computer 10, and the following is an explanation centered on an embodiment of the computer 10.
FIG. 3 is an actual arrangement example of the magnetic sensor S and the magnet M used for opening / closing detection in a notebook PC. As a conventional magnetic sensor for performing only opening / closing detection, a single-pole or bipolar one-output type IC has been sufficient.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows an outline of characteristics of the magnetic sensor S used in this embodiment. This is a bipolar 2-output type IC output, and either the output terminal OUT1 or OUT2 is turned ON / OFF with hysteresis depending on the direction of the magnetic field H.

FIG. 5 is an example of a security key when the Security function is realized in this embodiment. As an example, the magnetic surface is configured to be aligned with SNNSNSSN in a binary array of 8 bits.

  That is, security is realized by using a magnetic sensor capable of discriminating binary values (S, N). As an example, a security card with a specific arrangement of S or N magnets (for example, 8 bits) is created, and when this card is detected by sliding this card on the sensor site, it matches only with the stored pattern. Let the system boot.

  As an implementation example, in the PC configuration of FIG. 1, the arrangement of the S pole and the N pole is detected by sliding the security key as shown in FIG. 6 with the magnetic sensor of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrow. The security function is realized by comparing with the arrangement of the S and N poles of the security key stored in the security area of the TPM, and determining that the security is OK and NG if they do not match.

Further, the continuous determination of the S pole or the N pole has a function of canceling the previous polarity when it is longer than a certain interval (for example, 1 second).
In this embodiment, a new security function is provided by a system using a magnet and a S-pole and N-pole arrangement as a security key instead of a power-on password and fingerprint authentication that are generally used in a PC. Realize. As a security function, there are a case where the system is booted as described above and a case where the system is locked when no match is found.

  As described above, security was realized by the magnetic sensor of the PC. In the notebook PC, the opening / closing detection of the LCD is performed using a magnetic sensor (single value). A technique has been considered in which this magnetic sensor is changed to a binary sensor, the open / close state of the panel (0 ° C. or 180 ° C.) is detected, and the LCD display is inverted in conjunction with this. In addition, TPM (Security Dedicated Data ROM) chip has been installed to realize PC security. Using this magnetic sensor (binary) and TPM chip, a security system was constructed.

  As an effect, a security system can be realized without any special additional hardware. Security can be realized by using a magnetic sensor capable of discriminating binary values (S, N).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements according to different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

The perspective view of Example 1 of the security apparatus by this invention. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of Embodiment 1 of a security device. The actual example of arrangement | positioning of the magnetic sensor S and the magnet M of the Example. The characteristic schematic diagram of the magnetic sensor S of the same Example. An example of a security key used in the embodiment. The operation example of the security key of the same Example.

Explanation of symbols

10 Computer 13 Keyboard (KB)
17 LCD
111 CPU
113 Main memory 114 Graphics controller 114A VRAM
115 Software Processing Unit 119 South Bridge 120 BIOS
121 Hard disk / optical disk drive (HDD / DVD)
122 Magnetic sensor unit 123 Embedded controller / keyboard controller (EC / KBC)
124 TPM
125 Power supply circuit

Claims (4)

A sensor capable of discriminating binary values;
A security device comprising: a security key operated from the outside with respect to the sensor; and confirmation means for confirming that a detection result of the security key matches a predetermined pattern.   The security device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured by a magnetic sensor capable of discriminating between an S pole and an N pole.   The security apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the match is confirmed by the confirmation unit, the system is booted.   The security device according to claim 1, wherein the system is locked when it is confirmed by the confirmation unit that the match is not made.

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