JP6735867B2 - Controlling access to interfaces using dongles - Google Patents

Description

The embodiments described below relate to interfaces for industrial instruments, and more particularly to controlling access to the interfaces using dongles.

Industrial meters have interfaces that are accessed by various users. For example, multiple shift operations may involve interaction with a particular industrial instrument through the interface of that industrial instrument. The interface typically has software and settings to control and monitor industrial meters. For example, the software has menus that can affect the operation of industrial instruments when accessed. Improper modification of software and settings can adversely affect the reliable operation of industrial instruments and can even lead to catastrophe.

Many industries seek to ensure reliable operation of devices by using logins and passwords to limit access to the interface. For example, each user of the interface may have a unique login and password, which allows the user to enter the login and password to access a menu on the interface. However, since many users exist for each interface, if each user inputs a login and a password, there is a possibility that the limited computational resources of the interface may be excessively consumed. In addition, login and password usage are subject to human weaknesses such as forgetting passwords or password sharing. Therefore, using logins and passwords to control access to the interface is not only cumbersome, but may also allow unauthorized access by the user.

As such, there is a need to provide a technique for authorizing access to an interface without unnecessarily consuming interface computational resources. There is also a need to provide techniques for preventing unauthorized access while at the same time managing authorization for many users of the interface. These and other needs can be met by using a dongle to control access to the interface.

A dongle is provided to control access to the interface. According to one embodiment, such a dongle comprises a dongle memory configured to be communicatively coupled to the interface. The dongle memory has program code that includes an authorization menu. The program code is configured to authorize access to one or more menus on the interface.

A system is provided for controlling access to an interface using a dongle. According to an embodiment, such a system is communicatively coupled to an interface and communicatively coupled to a dongle comprising a dongle memory having a program code including an authorization menu. And a processor. The processor is configured to receive the program code from the dongle memory and authorize access to the one or more menus on the interface based on the authorization menu.

Methods are provided to control access to the interface. According to an embodiment, such a method comprises a dongle memory having a program code including an authorization menu, detecting a dongle communicatively coupled to the interface, and using the interface to read the program code from the dongle memory. And authorizing access to one or more menus on the interface.

Systems are provided for remotely controlling access to an interface using a dongle. According to one embodiment, such a system comprises an authorized workstation and a user workstation communicatively coupled to the authorized workstation via a network. The user workstation is configured to write program code that includes the dongle ID provided by the user workstation and received by the authorized workstation.

A method is provided for remotely controlling access to an interface using a dongle. According to an embodiment, such a method receives a dongle ID from a dongle, incorporates the received dongle ID into a program code for encoding, and writes the program code to the dongle using a user workstation. It includes things and things.

Aspects According to one aspect, a dongle (100) for controlling access to an interface (200) comprises a dongle memory (120) configured to be communicatively coupled to the interface (200). There is. The dongle memory (120) has program code (122) including an authorization menu (122a). Program code (122) is configured to authorize access to one or more menus on interface (200).

Preferably, the dongle (100) further comprises a connector (110) communicatively coupled to the dongle memory (120), the connector (110) configured to communicatively coupled to the interface (200). There is.

Preferably, the program code (122) further has a reference value (122b), the dongle memory (120) further has a dongle ID (124), and the reference value (122b) is compared with the dongle ID (124). It is determined whether the program code (122) is associated with the dongle (100).

Preferably, the program code (122) grants access to and/or terminates access to one or more menus on the interface (200) based on the authorization menu (122a). Is configured.

Preferably, when the dongle (100) is communicatively connected to the interface (200) and/or is communicatively disconnected from the interface (200), the program code (122) is It is executed by the interface (200).

Preferably, the interface (200) is an interface for industrial instruments (5).

According to an aspect, a system (10) for controlling access to an interface (200) using a dongle (100) includes a dongle (100) configured to be communicatively coupled to the interface (200). 100). The dongle (100) comprises a dongle memory (120) having a program code (122) including an authorization menu (122a). The system (10) further comprises a processor (212) communicatively coupled to the dongle memory (120). The processor (212) is configured to receive the program code (122) from the dongle memory (120) and authorize access to one or more menus on the interface (200) based on the authorization menu (122a). ing.

Preferably, the program code (122) further has a reference value (122b), the dongle memory (120) further has a dongle ID (124), and the processor (212) has the reference value (122b) as a dongle ID (124). ) To determine whether the program code (122) is associated with the dongle (100).

Preferably, the processor (212) approves and/or terminates access to one or more menus on the interface (200) based on the authorization menu (122a). Is configured.

Preferably, the processor (212) approves or terminates access to one or more menus on the interface (200) when the program code (122) is executed by the processor (212). Is configured to do at least one of the two.

Preferably, the processor (212) is at least one of a dongle (100) communicatively coupled to the interface (200) and a dongle (100) communicatively coupled to the interface (200). Is further configured to detect.

Preferably, the interface (200) is an interface for industrial instruments (5).

According to an aspect, a method for controlling access to an interface includes detecting a dongle communicatively connected to the interface. The dongle is equipped with a dongle memory with program code containing the authorization menu. Such methods include reading the program code from the dongle memory using the interface and authorizing access to one or more menus on the interface.

Preferably, the program code further comprises a reference value and the dongle memory further comprises a dongle identifier, the method comprising comparing with the dongle identifier to determine whether the program code is associated with the dongle. I'm out.

Preferably, the method detects that the dongle has been disconnected from the interface in a communicable manner and whether the authorization to one or more menus on the authorized interface has expired. And determining to approve one or more menus on the interface.

Preferably, the program code is configured to authorize access to and/or terminate authorization to one or more menus on the interface based on the authorization menu.

Preferably, the program code is executed by the interface when the dongle is communicatively coupled to the interface and/or disconnected from the interface.

According to an aspect, a system (900) for remotely controlling access to an interface (200) using a dongle (100) includes an authorization workstation (910).
And a user workstation (920) communicatively connected to the authorized workstation (910) via a network (930). User workstation (920) is configured to write program code (122) that includes dongle ID (124) provided by user workstation (920) and received by authorization workstation (910).

Preferably, at least one of the authorization workstation (910) and the user workstation (920) is configured to incorporate the received dongle ID (124) into the program code (122) for encoding.

Preferably, at least one of the authorization workstation (910) and the user workstation (920) is a mobile device.

According to an aspect, a method for remotely controlling access to an interface using a dongle includes receiving a dongle ID from the dongle, and the received dongle ID.
Embedded in the program code for encoding and writing the program code to the dongle using a user workstation.

Preferably, the dongle ID is received by an authorized workstation that can communicate with the user workstation over the network.

Preferably, the dongle ID is embedded and encoded in the program code by at least one of the authorized workstation and the user workstation.

Preferably, at least one of the authorized workstation and the user workstation is a mobile device.

The same reference numbers represent the same parts in all drawings. Note that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

1 is a front perspective view of system 10 for controlling access to interface 200 using dongle 100. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front perspective view showing the dongle 100 and interface 200 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a dongle 100 for controlling access to interface 200. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a dongle 100 for controlling access to an interface 200 using the dongle 100. 1 is a block diagram illustrating system 10 according to an embodiment with dongle 100 inserted into interface 200. FIG. FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 for controlling access to an interface when a dongle is communicatively connected to the interface. FIG. 8 illustrates another method 700 for controlling access to an interface with a dongle according to an embodiment in which the dongle is removed from the interface. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary menu displayed by interface 200. FIG. 3 illustrates a system 900 for remotely controlling access to interface 200 according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 illustrates a method 1000 for remotely controlling access to interface 200 using dongle 100 according to an embodiment.

1-10 and the following description depict specific embodiments to teach those skilled in the art how to implement and utilize the techniques for controlling access to an interface using a dongle in the best mode. It is shown. For the purpose of teaching inventive principles, some of the prior art has been simplified or omitted. Variations of these embodiments are also within the scope of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the components described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of techniques for controlling access to an interface using a dongle. Therefore, the embodiments described below are not limited to the specific examples described below, but are limited only by the claims and their equivalents.

The exemplary systems and methods described below include an interface that can read program code from a dongle. The program code can authorize access to one or more menus on the interface. In the example below, it is further possible to prevent unauthorized access to the interface by a fake dongle. Also, remote control of access to the interface is further described. This remote control includes receiving the dongle ID from the dongle at the user's location. The received dongle ID is embedded in the program code and encoded. This program code is written to the dongle, which allows access to the interface to be controlled at the user's location.

(A system for controlling access to interfaces using dongles)
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a system 10 for controlling access to an interface 200 using a dongle 100. The system 10 shown has the dongle 100 positioned proximate to the interface 200 but not inserted into the interface 200. The interface 200 is attached to the industrial measuring instrument 5. In the illustrated embodiment, the industrial instrument 5 is a Coriolis flow meter, such as Micro Motion, Inc. It is a Coriolis flow meter manufactured by. The Coriolis flow meter can measure the characteristic of the substance flowing through the Coriolis flow meter. In the illustrated embodiment, the material is adapted to flow through a Coriolis flow meter through inlet 5a and outlet 5b. In other embodiments, other types of devices, such as tuning fork densitometers, flow control valves and systems, pressure transducers, temperature sensors, etc., may be adapted to interface 200.

Further, the interface 200 is connected to the industrial measuring instrument 5 so as to communicate with it. That is, the interface 200 can send and receive signals to and from the industrial instrument 5. These signals may include, for example, measured values that are characteristic of the material flowing through the industrial meter 5. Additionally or alternatively, these signals may include, for example, drive signals sent to industrial instrument 5, flow control signals (if industrial instrument 5 includes a flow control device, etc.), and the like. These signals may have an electrical form, an optical form, or any other suitable form capable of being transmitted via an electrical conductor, a wireless communication link, etc. You may have.

In the illustrated embodiment, the interface 200 is adapted to be located in close proximity to the industrial instrument 5. In other embodiments, the interface 200 may be arranged in a position that is not close to the industrial instrument 5. For example, the interface 200 may be arranged in a control room remote from the industrial instrument 5. In the control room, the interface 200 is effectively shielded from hazardous or harmful environments. In addition, the menu can be accessed remotely. This may be advantageous, for example, for a user comparing data from various industrial instruments that are spread over a wide area. However, locating the interface 200 in close proximity to the industrial instrument 5 may be advantageous, for example, when the user needs to be within reach of the industrial instrument 5 at the same time that the user accesses a menu within the interface 200. is there. This is described in more detail below.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front perspective view showing the dongle 100 and interface 200 shown in FIG. As can be seen, the interface 200 has an interface panel 210 connected to an interface display 220. The interface display 220 shows an example of a menu. The interface 200 further has a plurality of buttons 230. In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of buttons 230 includes a scroll button 232 and a select button 234. The user can scroll through the menus using scroll button 232 until the desired menu appears. As shown in Figure 2, the desired menu is indicated by the arrow ">". The user can then press the select button 234 to select the desired menu.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, the desired menu is accompanied by an approval required sign. The approval required sign is "(approval required sign)" next to "menu 2". The approval required sign may notify the user that the desired menu requires approval. If the user attempts to select the desired menu before inserting the dongle 100, the interface 200 can deny access to the desired menu. The user can obtain approval for the desired menu by inserting the dongle 100. In other embodiments, a dongle that does not require insertion is used, for example, by operating wirelessly using the Bluetooth(R) protocol. Once approved, the user can press the select button 234 to access the desired menu. The authorization may be obtained by reading the program code from dongle 100. This is explained in more detail below.

Dongle FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a dongle 100 for controlling access to the interface 200. The dongle 100 has a connector 110 communicatively connected to a dongle memory 120. The dongle 100 is shown as a universal serial bus (USB) memory stick. In other embodiments, any suitable communication protocol, connector and/or memory may be used. In the illustrated embodiment, dongle memory 120 may include code, data, etc. that may control access to interface 200. This is described in further detail below in connection with FIG.

The connector 110 is configured to be communicatively connected to the interface 200. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the connector 110 is a male USB connector that can mate with the female USB connector of the interface 200. Therefore, communication between the dongle 100 and the interface 200 can be performed using the USB protocol. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and other embodiments, such as those in which the dongle can be operated wirelessly, the dongle memory 120 is configured to be communicatively coupled to the interface 200. It may have been done. This communication may include the transfer of information between interface 200 and dongle memory 120.

As shown in FIG. 3, the dongle memory 120 is an integrated memory. The dongle memory 120 may be composed of a flash memory. The flash memory can read, write, and store the program code, data, and the like multiple times without requiring power supply. However, in other embodiments two or more different types of memory may be used. For example, dongle memory 120 may be comprised of flash memory for program code and read-only memory (ROM) for data. While ROMs may be desirable to prevent modification of stored data, it may be advantageous to have rewritable memory such as flash memory to allow modification of dongle 100. In these and other embodiments, the code and data stored in dongle memory 120 may be capable of controlling access to interface 200. This is described in more detail below.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a dongle 100 for controlling access to the interface 200 using the dongle 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the dongle 100 has a connector 110 and the dongle memory 120 described above. The dongle memory 120 has a program code 122. In the illustrated embodiment, the program code 122 is a C language program having an authorization menu 122a portion and a reference value 122b. However, in other embodiments, any suitable language and program code may be used. It is further shown that dongle memory 120 has a dongle ID 124 separate from program code 122.

The authorization menu 122a may be a list of menus corresponding to one or more menus in the interface 200. Authorization menu 122a may be part or all of the menus available in interface 200. The authorization menu 122a may be a simple textual list of menus corresponding to the menu labels in the interface 200. Using a list of simple text menus has the advantage of reducing the computational load on the interface 200. Additionally or alternatively, the authorization menu 122a may have multiple values, each associated with a menu of multiple subgroups within the interface 200. For example, the authorization menu 122a may be a scalar value that the interface 200 associates with a small group of menus within the interface 200 rather than a list of menus. Scalar values can have the advantage of reducing the amount of data that must be read by interface 200 before authorizing a user's access to interface 200. User approval may include reading the reference value 122b.

Reference value 122b is shown as a hexadecimal value, but any suitable value may be used. The program code 122 is associated with the dongle 100 by the reference value 122b. For example, the reference value 122b may be associated with a particular dongle 100. In other embodiments, the metric 122b may be associated with a set of dongles for a particular group of workers. For example, it may be desirable to provide duplicates of the same software and dongle to different users who are authorized to access the same groups of menus on interface 200. However, even though a plurality of dongles can be manufactured, the dongle 100 can prevent unauthorized access by a fake dongle. This is explained below,

Fake dongle An unauthorized user may want to access a menu on the interface 200, but may not manage the actual item of the dongle 100 because he/she is not trained to operate the industrial instrument 5, for example. However, an unauthorized user may try to copy the program code 122 from the dongle 100 to a fake dongle under his control. However, attempting to copy the program code 122 into the false dongle's memory prevents the program code 122 from being associated with the false dongle. For example, the fake dongle may have a dongle ID different from the dongle ID 124 of the dongle 100 from which the program code 122 is copied.

To ensure that the program code 122 is not read from the fake dongle, the interface 200 may execute a routine to prevent the program code 122 from being read. For example, the interface 200 may be adapted to compare the reference value 122b with a false dongle ID before the interface 200 reads the program code 122. The comparison result may be such that the program code 122 is not associated with a false dongle. Therefore, the interface 200 cannot execute the program code 122 from the fake dongle. This can prevent an unauthorized user from accessing the interface 200.

To circumvent this limitation, the user may further attempt to copy dongle ID 124 from dongle memory 120 to rewritable memory in the fake dongle. However, when trying to read the dongle ID from the fake dongle, the interface 200 may be limited to some portion of memory within the fake dongle. For example, the interface 200 may be limited to reading only the read-only portion of memory in the fake dongle in reading the dongle ID. Therefore, the dongle ID 124 copied to the fake dongle by an unauthorized user cannot be read by the interface 200.

Although the above description describes that the reference value 122b and the dongle ID 124 are stored in memory in plain text format, other embodiments may use other storage techniques. For example, it may be desirable to store the reference value 122b in an encrypted form. The reference value 122b may be encrypted with a key held by the interface 200. An unauthorized user cannot create an encryption metric associated with the dongle ID of a fake dongle without the key.

Other methods may be used to prevent unauthorized access to the interface 200 using a fake dongle. The interface 200 can read the dongle 100 because the dongle ID 124 and the reference value 122b indicate that the dongle 100 is not a fake dongle. For this reason, the dongle 100 is communicatively connected to the interface 200 to control access to the interface 200.

Dongle Communicatingly Connected to Interface FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system 10 according to an embodiment in which a dongle 100 is inserted into an interface 200. As can be seen, the dongle memory 120 is communicatively connected to the interface 200 via the connector 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the interface panel 210 has a processor 212 communicatively coupled to the dongle memory 120. Further, the processor 212 is further communicatively connected to the interface memory 214 and the interface display 220. Processor 212 is configured to authorize access to one or more menus on interface 200, as described below.

Processor 212 is configured to receive program code 122 and dongle ID 124 from dongle 100. Processor 212 may be further configured to write program code 122 and dongle ID 124 to interface memory 214. Processor 212 may receive signals from scroll button 232 and select button 234. Accordingly, when the user presses select button 234, processor 212 is capable of displaying one or more menus on interface display 220. Whether the selected menu is displayed on the interface display 220 depends on whether the dongle 100 authorizes access to one or more of the menus described above. Processor 212 can use program code 122 read from dongle memory 120 to determine whether dongle 100 authorizes access to one or more of the menus described above. As such, the processor 212 is capable of executing the method of controlling access to the interface 200. Below, an exemplary method is described.

(How to control access to interface using dongle)
FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 for controlling access to an interface when a dongle is communicatively connected to the interface. In the illustrated embodiment, the method 600 is adapted to detect in step 610 that the dongle is communicatively coupled to the interface. The dongle described in method 600 may be dongle 100 described above. Similarly, the interface described in method 600 may be interface 200 described above. In step 620, method 600 uses the interface to read the program code from the dongle. The program code read by the method 600 may be the program code 122 described above. In step 630, the method 600 authorizes access to one or more menus in the interface when the program code is executed in the interface.

At step 610, method 600 can detect the dongle communicatively coupled to the interface in a variety of ways. For example, referring to the embodiments described above, the method 600 can detect the dongle 100 using the USB protocol. Additionally or alternatively, the interface may not detect the dongle until the user enters a command to mount the dongle on the interface. In other embodiments, a different method of detecting that the dongle is communicatively coupled with the interface may be used. After detecting the dongle, method 600 can read the program code and data from the dongle.

In step 620, the method 600 enables the program code to be read from the dongle memory, for example by verifying that the program code is associated with the dongle. Referring to the dongle 100 described above, the interface 200 may be adapted to read the reference value 122b and the dongle ID 124 from the dongle 100. The interface 200 can compare the reference value 122b and the dongle ID 124 to determine whether the program code 122 is associated with the dongle 100. For example, the processor 212 may be adapted to determine if the reference value 122b is equal to the dongle ID 124. After verifying that the program code is associated with the dongle, method 600 may proceed to step 630.

At step 630, method 600 may be adapted to authorize access to one or more menus of the interface. With reference to the interface 200 described above, the processor 212 may be adapted to display on the interface display 220 one or more menus stored in the interface memory 214. However, prior to displaying the one or more menus, the processor 212 may be adapted to compare the one or more menus in the interface memory 214 with the authorized menus 122a in the program code 122. If one or more menus are in the authorization menu 122a, the processor 212 may be adapted to display the one or more menus on the interface display 220. One or more menus may be displayed after the user has selected the desired menu using select button 234.

As described above, the dongle can be released from the communicable connection with the interface. Removing the dongle from the communicable connection with the interface may terminate authorization for one or more menus. This is described in detail below with reference to FIG.

Authorization Termination FIG. 7 illustrates another method 700 for controlling access to an interface using a dongle according to an embodiment in which the dongle is removed from the interface. At step 710, the method 700 may be adapted to detect that the dongle is disconnected from the communicable connection with the interface. These dongles and interfaces may be dongles 100 and interfaces 200 described above. At step 720, the method 700 can determine whether the approval for one or more menus has expired. If the approval has not expired, the method 700 returns to the beginning of step 720 to again determine if the approval has expired. If the approval has expired, then the method 700 ends approval of the one or more menus at step 730.

In step 710, the method 700 may be adapted to detect that the dongle is disconnected from the communicative connection by various techniques. For example, the user may be allowed to select a menu item on interface 200 to unattach dongle 100 from interface 200. That is, after being unattached, dongle 100 may still be physically connected to interface 200 but not in communication with interface 200. Alternatively, dongle 100 may be adapted to be removed from the communicable connection with interface 200 by removing dongle 100 from interface 200. In releasing the dongle 100 from the communicable connection with the interface 200, other methods may be used in other embodiments.

Removing the dongle from the communicable connection with the interface may start a timer that determines the expiration of access to one or more menus on the interface 200. For example, removing dongle 100 from interface 200 may cause processor 212 to write a timestamp to a register of processor 212. Additionally or alternatively, releasing the dongle from the communicable connection with the interface may cause the state of the register to change. The register may then be accessed by method 700 to terminate authorization.

At step 720, the method 700 can determine if authorization to one or more menus has expired, for example, by determining if a period of time has elapsed. With reference to interface 200, method 700 is adapted to periodically compare the real time obtained from the clock with the time stamp written in the register. If the difference between the real time and the time stamp becomes greater than the reference time, the method 700 may be adapted to indicate that the authorization has expired.

At step 730, method 700 may terminate approval of one or more menus. For example, method 700 can prevent a user from entering information, selecting a menu item in one or more menus, and so on. The method 700 can also prevent a user from reading data on the interface or accessing information on the interface. With reference to the interface 200 described above, the processor 212 may terminate approval for one or more menus. For example, processor 212 can compare one or more menus in interface memory 214 to authorized menus 122a in program code 122. Menus that are not listed in the authorization menu 122a and do not require approval may be accessible to all users.

As described above, method 600 and method 700 are separate methods of terminating interface authorization and interface authorization. However, method 600 and method 700 may be a single method having a loop for continuously determining whether dongle 100 is communicatively coupled with interface 200. In addition, it should be appreciated that methods 600 and 700 may be adapted to further control which menus are displayed by the interface. For example, an exemplary menu sequence illustrated by interface display 220 is described below.

Menu Displayed by Interface FIG. 8 shows an exemplary menu displayed by interface 200. As shown in FIG. 8, the interface display 220 has an unauthorized sequence 222 consisting of a home menu 222a and an unauthorized access notification 222b. Unauthorized sequence 222 illustrates a menu that may be displayed to a user if the user attempts to access an unauthorized menu. Further, FIG. 8 shows a home menu 224a, which may be the same as the home menu 222a of the unauthorized sequence 222, a dongle insertion notification 224b, an authorization menu 224c, a dongle removal notification 224d, and an authorization expiration notification 224e. The constructed approval sequence 224 is further shown. The authorization sequence 224 shows a menu that may be displayed to a user who is authorized to access the interface 200. Below, the unacknowledged sequence 222 is compared to the acknowledged sequence 224.

In the unauthorized sequence 222, the user may attempt to access Menu 2 shown in the home menu 222a without using the dongle 100. Since the dongle 100 has not been inserted into the interface 200, the user is not authorized to access the menu 2 displayed by the interface 200. As such, when the user presses the select button 234, the interface 200 displays the unauthorized access notification 222b. The unauthorized access notification 222b may be displayed for a certain period until returning to the home menu 222a.

In the authorization sequence 224, the user may have the dongle 100 to obtain authorization for access to the interface 200. When the home menu 224a is displayed, the user inserts the dongle 100 into the interface 200. The interface 200 can detect the dongle 100 and display the dongle insertion notification 224b. If the interface 200 approves the access, the user presses the select button 234 to select menu 2. The interface 200 may then display the approval menu 224c.

The user may remove the dongle 100 from the interface 200 during or after interaction with the interface 200. For example, the user may only need to read a single measurement result from interface 200. Therefore, the user may insert dongle 100 long enough to obtain approval for approval menu 224c. Alternatively, the user may remove the dongle 100 when it has finished interacting with the interface 200. In either case, the user can access the approval menu 224c until the approval is completed.

When the dongle 100 is removed or detached, the interface display 220 may display the dongle removal notification 224d. The dongle removal notice 224d informs the user of the remaining time of approval for the dongle removal notice 224d. In the illustrated embodiment, the remaining time is 10 minutes. However, in other embodiments, the remaining time may be longer or shorter. When the approval expires, the interface display 220 can display the approval expiration notice 224e. After a certain period of time, the interface display 220 may return to the home menu 224a for display. The user may be adapted to reinsert the dongle 100 into the interface 200 to obtain reapproval after the previous approval has expired.

The method 600 and method 700 described above may perform the steps described above. However, any method suitable for authorizing and terminating access to interface 200 may be implemented. For example, it may be adapted to be communicatively coupled to interface 200 (or other interface) without physically attaching a wirelessly actuatable dongle to interface 200. In addition, other menus and notifications may be displayed and/or other menu sequences may be used. For example, in other menu sequences, dongle insertion notification 224b and dongle removal notification 224d may not be displayed.

Of course, even if it is possible to use the dongle 100 locally rather than remotely to control access to the interface 200, access to the interface 200 is still permitted. Remote control
There may be situations where it is advantageous to control. There are cases in which unplanned events such as equipment damage, sudden failure, and personnel changes occur, and the dongle 100 is needed but cannot be used immediately. The remote access control allows the user to access the interface 200 when such an event occurs. Exemplary systems and methods for remotely controlling access to an interface are described in further detail below.

(Remote control of access to the interface)
FIG. 9 illustrates a system 900 for remotely controlling access to interface 200 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the system 900 comprises an authorization workstation 910 that is in communication with a user workstation 920 via a network 930. The authorization workstation 910 may be located at a location in the United States, for example. In some embodiments, network 930 may be the Internet. User workstation 920 may be the location (location) of the user. According to some embodiments, the user location may be an industrial location, such as an offshore oil depot, an oil refinery plant or the like. User workstation 920 is shown as communicatively coupled to dongle 100 described above, but in other embodiments any suitable dongle may be used.

The authorization workstation 910 and the user workstation 920 may be configured to read or write program code, for example, the program code illustrated by the callout 912 drawn out of line from the authorization workstation 910. Good. The program code may be the program code 122 described above. In the illustrated embodiment, the authorization workstation 910 and the user workstation 920 may be, for example, personal computers executing an instance of a method of embedding a dongle ID in program code to encode. Also, the authorization workstation 910 and the user workstation 920 may be further configured to write or modify the authorization menu in the program code, eg, the authorization menu 122a described above. The program code may be written to dongle 100 that is communicatively coupled to user workstation 920.

Although the authorization workstation and user workstation are described as being personal computers, in other embodiments non-personal authorization workstations and user workstations may be used. For example, the authorized workstation and/or the user workstation may be a mobile device, such as a cell phone, tablet computer, etc. In addition, instead of being inserted into the user workstation 920, another dongle capable of wireless communication with the user workstation 920 may be used instead. In other embodiments, the wireless enabled dongle may be capable of wireless communication with a mobile device. In other embodiments, other configurations may be used.

Of course, system 900 can be used to remotely control access to interface 200 at a user location. For example, the system 900 can remotely control access by writing the dongle ID to the program code using the user workstation 920 and then writing the program code to the dongle 100. This is described in more detail below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method 1000 for remotely controlling access to interface 200 using dongle 100 according to an embodiment. Method 1000 begins at step 1010 of receiving a dongle ID from a dongle at a user location. The dongle at the user location may be the dongle 100, and the dongle ID may be the dongle ID 124 described above. In step 1020, method 1000 incorporates the received dongle ID into the program code and encodes it. The method 1000 then writes the program code to the dongle at the user location. The program code may be directed to the dongle 100 shown in FIG.

In step 1010, the method 1000 can receive the dongle ID from the dongle at the user location by using the system 900 described above. However, in other embodiments, any suitable system may be used. Referring to system 900, authorization workstation 910 may receive dongle ID 124 via network 930. The dongle ID 124 may be sent after the query has been sent by the authorization workstation 910. Alternatively, dongle ID 124 may be sent by user workstation 920 without the need for an inquiry from authorized workstation 910. For example, the user workstation 920 is capable of executing a routine that sends a request with the dongle ID 124 to the authorization workstation 910.

In step 1020, method 1000 can incorporate and code the received dongle ID into program code. For example, the method 1000 can use the authorization workstation 910 to add the dongle ID to the appropriate line in the program code. The program code written by method 1000 may be program code 122 described above. However, any suitable program code may be used.

In step 1030, method 1000 writes the program code to the dongle at the user location. For example, method 1000 can transmit program code from authorization workstation 910 to user workstation 920 via network 930. The method 1000 can then write the program code to the dongle 100 using the user workstation 920. The program code written to dongle 100 may be the program code having the received dongle ID shown in FIG.

Although method 1000 described above describes that a dongle ID is received by authorization workstation 910, the dongle ID may be received by other means. For example, method 1000 may receive the dongle ID at user workstation 920. The method 1000 may be adapted to obtain authorization from the authorizing workstation 910 to write the dongle ID to the program code without sending the dongle ID to the authorizing workstation 910. Other steps of receiving the dongle ID and incorporating it into the program code to encode it may be used.

In the embodiment described above, controlling the access to the interface 200 using the dongle 100 is realized. As described above, the dongle 100 may be used to control access to the interface 200 so that an unnecessary number of logins does not consume the computing resources of the interface 200. Access to interface 200 can be controlled without the problems associated with login and password methods. For example, users are not allowed to remember login information or share passwords. In addition, since the program code 122 on the dongle 100 can be associated with the dongle 100, it is possible to prevent a false dongle. Access to the interface 200 may also be remotely controlled by the authorization workstation 910. Thus, even if dongle 100 is not immediately available, the user can get approval for interface 200 in a hurry-and-fast way.

The above detailed description of the embodiments is not exhaustive of all embodiments considered by the inventors to be included in the present invention. Rather, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that some of the components of the above-described embodiments may be combined or removed in various ways to create further embodiments, and Such additional embodiments are also within the scope and teachings of the specification. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the above embodiments may be combined in whole or in part to create additional embodiments within the scope of the techniques and teachings herein.

While specific embodiments or examples have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications are possible within the scope of the specification, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. is there. The teachings described herein may be applied not only to the embodiments described in the accompanying drawings, but also to other systems and methods for controlling access to interfaces using dongles. For that reason, the scope of the above-described embodiments should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

A system (900) for remotely controlling access to an interface (200) using a dongle (100), comprising:
An authorized workstation (910),
A user workstation (920) communicatively connected to the authorized workstation (910) via a network (930),
The user workstation (920) is configured to write program code (122) to the dongle (100),
The program code (122) includes one or more authorization menus (122a), a dongle ID (124) provided by the user workstation (920) and received by the authorization workstation (910), Is included,
The program code (122) is a system (900) that, when executed on the interface (200), authorizes access to one or more authorization menus (122a) on the interface (200 ). At least one of said authorization workstation (910) and said user workstation (920) is configured to incorporate and code said received dongle ID (124) into a program code (122). The system (900) of paragraph 1. The system (900) of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein at least one of the authorization workstation (910) and the user workstation (920) is a mobile device. A method for remotely controlling access to an interface using a dongle, comprising:
Receiving a dongle ID from the dongle,
Incorporating the received dongle ID into a program code to code;
Writing the program code containing one or more authorization menus to the dongle using a user workstation ,
The method, wherein the program code, when executed in an interface, authorizes access to one or more authorization menus in the interface . The method of claim 4, wherein the dongle ID is received by an authorized workstation in communication with the user workstation over a network. The method of claim 5 , wherein the dongle ID is embedded and encoded in the program code by at least one of the authorization workstation and the user workstation. The method of claim 5 , wherein at least one of the authorization workstation and the user workstation is a mobile device.

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