JP4467526B2 - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal carried by a user together with an additional device that transmits a specific radio wave.

  A mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone can be carried around and can be used at any destination. However, if the mobile phone is lost or stolen while away from home, there is a problem that the mobile phone is used without permission by a third party. Furthermore, there is a problem in that personal information of the user of the mobile phone is known to a third party.

  As a mobile communication terminal that solves such a problem, for example, there is a mobile communication terminal disclosed in Patent Document 1. In these patent documents, use is permitted if communication with an attached unit used with a portable communication terminal is possible, and use is prohibited if communication with the attached unit is not possible. A communication terminal is disclosed.

That is, when the mobile communication terminal is stolen or the like, the distance between the accessory unit at hand of the user and the mobile communication terminal is increased, so that communication using radio waves becomes impossible. Therefore, if communication with the accessory unit is impossible, the mobile communication terminal is regarded as stolen and the use of the mobile communication terminal is prohibited.
JP 2005-151392 A

  However, according to the portable communication terminal of Patent Document 1, if not only the portable communication terminal but also the attached unit is stolen together, it becomes possible for a third party to use the portable communication terminal. There's a problem. This is because in the portable communication terminal of Patent Document 1, use of the portable communication terminal is permitted if the portable communication terminal and the attached unit are brought close to each other.

  In addition, if the user leaves the mobile communication terminal and the attached unit without being stolen (for example, in the office, at home, or in a dressing room at a bathroom), a third party uses the mobile communication terminal. In addition, the personal information of the user may be obtained.

  In order to completely prevent such unauthorized use by a third party, the user of the mobile communication terminal must always carry at least the attached unit. However, it is troublesome for the user to always carry the accessory unit.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal that can prevent unauthorized use by a third party due to theft or the like without imposing a burden on the user of the mobile communication terminal.

  The mobile communication terminal of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives a specific radio wave from an additional device that transmits the specific radio wave, and a use permission that permits the use of the mobile communication terminal by authentication using the specific radio wave received by the receiving unit. Means for detecting contact or proximity of the additional device to the mobile communication terminal, and when the detection means detects that the additional device is in contact with or close to the mobile communication terminal, the use permission means Limiting means for limiting a part or all of the functions permitted to be used.

  The above-mentioned use permission means determines whether or not the mobile terminal device can be used by authentication using a specific radio wave. In order to perform this authentication, it is a major premise that communication with an additional device can be performed first. The premise is that the means can receive a specific radio wave. In this respect, it is common with the prior art (Patent Document 1). However, the detection means and the restriction means as described above are not in the conventional portable terminal device.

  According to such a portable communication terminal, for example, when the portable communication terminal is not used, the user can limit the functions of the portable communication terminal by bringing the additional device into contact with the portable communication terminal only once. Therefore, the user cannot help and there is no fear that the mobile communication terminal is illegally used by a third party even while the user is away from the mobile communication terminal and the additional device.

  The “contact of the additional device” of the present invention includes a concept such as mounting of the additional device or wired connection of the additional device.

  Preferably, an input unit that receives an input by a user's operation and a release unit that releases the restriction by the restriction unit based on an input from the input unit may be further provided.

  The input from the input unit may be, for example, password input. By the input from the input unit, the function restriction by the restriction unit is released, and the mobile communication terminal can be used again. In other words, unless the password is input from the input unit, the function restriction by the restriction means is continued. According to the mobile communication terminal having such a configuration, the mobile communication terminal can more reliably prevent unauthorized use.

  Preferably, while there is no predetermined input from the input unit, it is preferable that the limiting unit continues to limit the function. Otherwise, even if the additional device is brought into contact with the mobile communication terminal, if the additional device is separated from the mobile terminal device, the use permission means may permit the use, and the mobile communication terminal can be used again. This is because unauthorized use by a third party is facilitated.

  Another portable communication terminal of the present invention is a portable communication terminal carried by a user together with an additional device that transmits a specific radio wave, a receiving unit that receives the specific radio wave transmitted from the additional device, and the receiving unit The first authentication means for performing authentication using the specific radio wave received by the user, the input section for receiving input by the user, the second authentication means for performing authentication using the input from the input section, and the first Alternatively, the first permission means for permitting use of the portable communication terminal by authentication by either one of the second authentication means, and the authentication of the portable communication terminal by authentication by both the first and second authentication means. The apparatus further comprises a second permission means for permitting use, and a switching means for causing only one of the first or second permission means to function based on a user's operation.

  In order to strongly prevent unauthorized use by a third party, the user of the portable communication terminal and the user who desires both the first and second authentications and both of the above authentications are bothersome, so either one is sufficient. It is considered that there is a user. According to the mobile communication terminal having the above-described configuration, the authentication method for permitting use can be changed according to the user's preference, and the above-mentioned user's desires can be satisfied.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mobile communication terminal that can prevent unauthorized use by a third party due to theft or the like without imposing a burden on the user of the mobile communication terminal.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the mobile communication terminal of the present invention will be described.

<First Embodiment>
(Configuration of mobile phone 10)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of the mobile phone 10 and the additional device 20. The mobile phone 10 has a configuration characterized by the present invention in addition to the configuration of a normal mobile phone.

  The additional device 20 is possessed by the user together with the mobile phone 10. The additional device 20 includes at least a wireless communication unit 21 and a magnetic field generation unit 22. The wireless communication unit 21 modulates / demodulates a signal for performing device authentication with the mobile phone 10 and transmits / receives the signal. The magnetic field generator 22 generates a weak magnetic field for use in detecting contact between the additional device 20 and the mobile phone 10. There are various examples of the additional device 20, for example, a wristwatch or a card provided with the wireless communication unit 21 or the magnetic field generation unit 22.

  The cellular phone 10 includes an antenna 1, a transmission / reception unit 2, a control unit 3, an operation unit 4, a speaker 5, a display unit 6, a microphone 7, a memory 8, a sensor 9, a wireless communication unit 11, a device authentication unit 12, and a use determination unit. 15, an additional device detection unit 13 and an input password authentication unit 14.

  The antenna 1 transmits and receives a radio wave (a radio wave of about 800 MHz or 2 GHz) used for a normal call. The transmission / reception unit 2 demodulates the received radio wave received via the antenna 1 into data and outputs the data to the control unit 3, and modulates transmission data output from the control unit 4 into a transmission signal and outputs the transmission signal to the antenna 1.

  The control unit 3 performs various controls on various units of the mobile phone 10 or processes various data.

  The operation unit 4 includes operation buttons that accept user input, and the input content from the operation unit 4 is output to the control unit 3. The speaker 5 converts the sound signal output from the control unit 3 into sound and outputs the sound. The display unit 6 outputs characters, symbols, images, and the like according to instructions from the control unit 3. The microphone 7 outputs the detected sound to the control unit 3. The memory 8 stores various information such as a call history, contents of transmitted / received mail, another person's telephone number, or an authentication password.

  The wireless communication unit 11 receives a radio wave different from the radio wave used for a normal call received by the antenna 1. That is, it is possible to transmit and receive radio waves used in short-range communication or local communication such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth, and infrared communication. A device authentication signal from the wireless communication unit 21 of the additional device 20 is received by the wireless communication unit 11.

  The device authentication unit 12 demodulates the radio signal from the additional device 20 received by the wireless communication unit 11, decodes the device authentication signal, and performs authentication. Then, whether or not the authentication result is successful is output to the usability determination unit 15. For example, when the level of the radio signal received by the wireless communication unit 11 is small and the received signal cannot be demodulated because the distance between the additional device 20 and the mobile phone 10 is large, the device authentication unit 12 outputs the authentication result to the usability determination unit 15 as “No”.

  The magnetic sensor 9 detects the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generator 22 of the additional device 20 and outputs the detected magnetic field strength to the additional device detector 13.

  The additional device detection unit 13 determines whether or not the additional device 20 is in contact with the mobile phone 10 based on the magnitude of the magnetic field intensity from the magnetic sensor 9, and outputs the result to the usability determination unit 15.

  For example, it is assumed that the additional device 20 is a wristwatch, has a magnetic field generator 22 on the watch display surface side of the wristwatch, and has a magnetic sensor 22 on the mobile phone 10 side provided on the housing. Then, the additional device 20 is detected by the additional device detection unit 13 by bringing the display surface side of the wristwatch into contact with the casing of the mobile phone.

  The password authentication unit 14 compares the content input from the operation unit 4 by the user with the content stored in the memory 8 and outputs the result to the usability determination unit 15. Specifically, for example, the authentication password stored in the memory 8 is compared with the content input from the operation unit 4 by the user.

  The usability determination unit 15 determines whether or not the mobile phone 10 can be used based on output results from the device authentication unit 12 and the additional device detection unit 13. The determination result is output to the control unit 3. For example, when the usability determination unit 15 determines that the mobile phone 10 is unusable, an unusable signal is transmitted to the control unit 3, and the control unit 3 receives this signal, and the control unit 3 receives the transmission / reception unit 2, the operation unit 4, and the display. The function of the unit 6 is stopped. The usability determination unit 15 includes a storage unit (not shown) that temporarily stores output results from the device authentication unit 12 and the additional device detection unit 13.

(Processing content of the usability determination unit 15)
With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, the contents of the process for determining whether or not the mobile phone 10 can be used, which is performed by the usability determining unit 15, will be described.

  When the power of the mobile phone 10 is turned on (step S1), in the subsequent step S2, whether the additional device detection unit 13 detects the contact of the additional device 20 with reference to the detection result output from the additional device detection unit 13 first. It is determined whether or not the detection result is compared with the previous detection result. If the previous detection result is a non-contact state and the current detection result is a contact state, the process proceeds to step S3. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S3, a detection flag indicating a contact state with the additional device 20 is turned ON. In subsequent step S4, the state of the detection flag is referred to and it is confirmed whether or not the detection flag is ON. When the detection flag is ON (Yes), the process proceeds to step S8. When the detection flag is OFF (No), the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, the device authentication result output from the device authentication unit 12 is referred to. If the authentication result is “successful”, the mobile phone 10 is set in a usable state in step S7. If the authentication result is “NO”, in step S6, the mobile phone 10 is set to an unusable state.

  In step S8, the password authentication result output from the password authentication unit 14 is referred to. If the authentication result is “success”, the process proceeds to step S9. If the authentication result is “NO”, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S9, the detection flag is turned off. In step S10, the mobile phone 10 is set to an unusable state.

(Example of use)
An example will be described to explain how such processing is performed in an actual usage scene.

  For example, it is assumed that the additional device 20 is a wristwatch worn by the user and is a wristwatch provided with the wireless communication unit 11. First, in step S2, it is determined No unless the above-described wristwatch is brought into contact with the mobile phone 10, and step S3 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, since the detection flag is OFF, the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, branching is performed based on the authentication result by the device authentication unit 12.

  For example, if the user leaves the mobile phone 10 in a restaurant and leaves the store, the device authentication cannot be performed because the distance from the wristwatch worn by the user is increased. Therefore, it is determined No in step S5. In step S6, the unusable state is set. This prevents unauthorized use by a third party even if the mobile phone 10 is left unintentionally.

  On the other hand, when the mobile phone 10 and the wristwatch are close enough to allow device authentication (for example, within 1 meter), Yes is determined in step S5, and the usable state is set in step S7.

  Here, it is assumed that the user needs to leave both the mobile phone 10 and the wristwatch (additional device 20). For example, it is assumed that both the mobile phone 10 and the wristwatch have to be left in a bathroom changing room for bathing. In this case, the user can prevent unauthorized use by a third party by bringing the wristwatch into contact with the mobile phone 10 once before leaving.

  That is, when the display surface side of the wristwatch and the casing of the mobile phone 10 are brought into contact with each other, it is detected in Step S2 that the state has changed from non-contact to a contact state (Yes is determined), and the process proceeds to Step S3.

  In step S3, the detection flag is turned ON, and the process proceeds to step S8 via step S4. In step S8, the success or failure of the password authentication result is determined. If the correct password is not input from the operation unit 4, the process proceeds to step S10, and the mobile phone 10 is disabled.

  After returning to step S2 again through step S10, it is determined No in step S2 this time. In subsequent step S4, since the detection flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S8. Then, unless the correct password is input from the operation unit 4, the unusable state is continued.

  On the other hand, if the password authentication result is “successful” because the correct password has been input in step S8, the process proceeds to step S5. Then, it is set to be usable or unusable depending on the device authentication result.

  According to such a mobile phone 10, the user can restrict the function of the mobile phone 10 by bringing the additional device 20 into contact with the mobile phone 10 only once when the mobile phone 10 is not used. Furthermore, this restriction cannot be lifted without a correct password input by the user. Therefore, even if the user is forced to leave the mobile phone 10 and the additional device 20, there is no possibility that the mobile phone 10 is illegally used by a third party.

  In the above description, when the contact of the additional device is detected by the detection unit 13 or when the device authentication is unsuccessful, an unusable signal is output (steps S6 and S10). All ten functions may be unavailable, or some functions may be unavailable.

  Further, in the processing flowchart described in FIG. 2, when a third party who is not the original user turns off the power of the mobile phone 10 and then turns on the mobile phone 10 again, steps S2 → S4 → There is a possibility that unauthorized use of the mobile phone 10 is permitted through S5 → S7. Therefore, the cellular phone 10 may always require an authentication password to be input when the power is turned on (so that the processing after step S2 is not performed unless an authentication password is input). ).

  Alternatively, if the above detection flag is stored in a non-volatile memory and the power is turned off when the detection flag is ON (the mobile phone 10 is not usable), the detection flag is detected even after restarting. The flag may be maintained in the ON state.

  In the above example, when the additional device 20 is brought into contact with the mobile phone 10 only once, “Yes” is determined in step S2 and the use of the mobile phone 10 is disabled. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if there is 3 contact instead of 1 time, it may be determined as Yes in step S2, or it may be determined as Yes in step S2 by contacting for 3 seconds or more.

  Further, the additional device 20 may be of a card type that can be mounted in the mobile phone 10 card slot. When such a card type additional device is adopted, the additional device detection unit 13 considers that the additional device 20 has come into contact with the card being inserted into the card slot (determined Yes in step S2). ).

Also in this case, as in the above example, the use of the mobile phone 10 is not permitted unless the password authentication result is “successful” in step S8.

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Similarly to the first embodiment, the mobile communication terminal (mobile phone 40) of this embodiment also relates to a mobile communication terminal carried by a user together with an additional device that transmits a specific radio wave.

  The mobile phone 40 is different from the mobile phone 10 of FIG. 1 in that it does not include the magnetic sensor 9 for detecting the contact of the additional device 20 or the additional device detection unit 13. Further, the mobile phone 10 is different from the mobile phone 10 in that the switching unit 18 is provided. Further, the processing contents performed by the usability determination unit 15 are slightly different from those of the mobile phone 10. However, the other configuration blocks are the same as those of the mobile phone 10. Therefore, only the usability determination unit 15 and the switching unit 18 will be described below.

  The mobile phone 40 performs two types of authentication: first authentication based on a determination result in the device authentication unit 12 and second authentication using an authentication password input result from the operation unit 4 by the user. Can do. The usability determination unit 15 performs the first mode in which the use of the mobile communication terminal 40 is permitted by the authentication by one of the first and second authentications, and the first and second authentications. A second mode for permitting use of the communication terminal 40 is provided. In other words, both the program corresponding to the first mode and the program corresponding to the second mode are prepared in the usability determination unit 15.

  Based on the input from the operation unit 4, the user of the mobile phone 40 can select whether to operate the mobile communication terminal 40 in the first or second mode. The switching unit 18 performs control to switch the operation mode of the usability determination unit 15 based on the input content from the operation unit 4.

In order to strongly prevent unauthorized use by a third party, the user of the portable communication terminal and the user who desires both the first and second authentications and both of the above authentications are bothersome, so either one is sufficient. It is considered that there is a user. According to the mobile phone 40 having the above configuration, the authentication method for permitting the use of the mobile phone 40 can be changed according to the user's preference, so that the user's preference having both types of preferences can be satisfied. it can.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of claims for patent and all modifications within the scope.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, contact detection between the mobile communication terminal and the additional device is performed by a magnetic method, but there are other so-called touch methods, capacitance change detection methods, and the like. Alternatively, the additional device may be of a card type and may be attached to a card slot of a mobile communication terminal. The additional device and the mobile communication terminal can be connected by a cable, and the connection via the connector may be detected. Alternatively, the additional device may be a key holder or a charging base for a mobile phone. As described above, “contact” used in the claims of the present application includes concepts such as “attachment” and “connection by wire” as described above.

In the strict sense, the function of the mobile communication terminal may be limited as long as the mobile communication terminal and the additional device are close to each other even if the contact is not contact but is non-contact. For example, the function of the mobile phone may be limited when the additional device and the mobile phone are close enough to perform magnetic detection and capacitance change detection. Alternatively, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader / writer is further mounted on one of the mobile phone and the additional device, and an RFID chip is mounted on the other to carry the additional device (consisting of a card or the like). The function of the mobile phone may be limited by holding it over the phone. In addition to the RFID communication unit, the card having such an RFID function includes the above-described wireless communication unit 21 that enables wireless communication over a longer distance than the RFID. “Proximity” used in the claims of the present invention includes the concept as described above.

  The mobile communication terminal is not limited to a mobile phone, and may be a portable video player, portable music player, PDA, or notebook computer.

In the above description, the embodiment has been described mainly for preventing unauthorized use of the mobile communication terminal. However, the concept disclosed in this application specification can also be applied to prevent unauthorized use of other devices. It is. For example, instead of a portable communication terminal, personal information such as a desktop personal computer, home server, HDD recorder, DVD recorder, etc., or information that would be difficult to be known by a third party is recorded. It can also be applied to prevent unauthorized use of stationary information devices. Furthermore, it can be applied to the unauthorized use of duralumin case and the prevention of unauthorized use of household keys.

2 is a block diagram showing configurations of a mobile phone 10 and an additional device 20. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the content of determination processing for determining whether or not the mobile phone 10 can be used, which is performed by the usability determining unit 15. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone 40. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Magnetic sensor 11 Wireless communication part 12 Device authentication part 13 Additional apparatus detection part 14 Password authentication part 15 Usability determination part

Claims (3)

Receiving means for receiving a specific radio wave transmitted from the additional device;
Use permission means for permitting use of the mobile communication terminal by authentication using a specific radio wave received by the receiving means;
Detecting means for detecting contact or proximity of the additional device to the mobile communication terminal;
A portable communication terminal comprising: a restricting unit that restricts a part or all of functions permitted to be used by the use permission unit when the detection unit detects that the additional device is in contact with or close to the portable communication terminal . An input unit that accepts input by a user's operation;
The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising: a release unit that releases the restriction by the restriction unit when a predetermined input is received from the input unit.   The portable communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the restriction unit continues to restrict the function while there is no predetermined input from the input unit.

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