WO2009055762A1

WO2009055762A1 - Operations using computing device

Info

Publication number: WO2009055762A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/081244
Authority: WO
Inventors: Samir Srivastava
Original assignee: Samir Srivastava
Priority date: 2007-10-26
Filing date: 2008-10-26
Publication date: 2009-04-30

Abstract

The invention is intended for the lock/unlock operation using the computing device in control of the individual/entity. The invention includes the start/stop and/or open/close operation on different objects using the computing device. The invention includes the locator functionality within vehicles for locking/unlocking object. The invention includes third party provider for providing reference identity information in real time. The invention includes the association of biometric sample such as DNA with different entities including but not limited to computing devices.

Description

PATENT APPLICATION

For

Operations using Computing Device

Inventor Samir Srivastava

330 Tuolumne Drive Fremont (CA) 94539

USA

(510) 651-2265 Attorney's Docket No. 11.P023A Operations using Computing Device

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS:

This application claims the priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. <60/983150> filed OCT-26-2007, the content of which is herby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD:

The present invention relates to lock, key, vehicle, computing device, communication network, security mechanisms, software and hardware.

BACKGROUND:

Currently vehicle is started via a key. Key with remote / keys are being used for locking and unlocking the vehicle. Also similar keys are used to open the trunk. These keys are used to start/stop the engine in the vehicle. The current key system doesn't provide both way communications, vehicle doesn't provide locater functionality for locating the keys.

Currently in homes, business entities keys and badges are used to open/close the lock of the buildings. Business entities have password, access card, badge based access.

Currently bank/financial institution/hotels/motels/gymnasium/community centers (more generically community places) also provide the locker facility for the users to secure the valuables. Locks in above scenario are operated by hard keys. Locks are mechanical in nature. In some scenarios they are number/password protected.

We have locksmiths to reset/break the locks in different use cases such as loss of keys.

For identity assertion we use photo-ID provided via passport, driver license or other photo-Id's such as on the smart cards. These identity document(s) are in the control of the individual/entity and these identity document(s) are issued by the different governing/regulatory bodies as appropriate in different geographic regions.

When a computing device such as cell phone, pager etc is associated with a person, his/her identity is verified by the seller. These identity documents are in the control of the individual.

Currently there is no association of biometric sample such as DNA with the different identity documents.

SUMMARY: The invention is intended for the lock/unlock operation using the computing device in control of the individual/entity. The invention includes the start/stop and/or open/close operation on different objects using the computing device. The invention includes the locator functionality within vehicles for locking/unlocking object. The invention includes third party provider for providing reference identity. The invention includes the association of biometric sample such as DNA with different entities including but not limited to computing devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:

Figure 1] shows different entities in lock/unlock operation using computing device. Figure 2) shows different entities in usage of Vehicle Operations via computing devices. Figure 3] shows different entities in usage of Third Party for identity assertion.

Figure 4] shows Hardware and Software Overview for SCD (refer description below for definition), (un) portable computing device of user and third party for Identity Information

DESCRIPTION:

The following detailed description sets forth numerous specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, protocols, algorithms, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.

Reference in this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

In the below specifications, user's computing device means to include any portable/un-portable device having one or all or any combination of processor, memory, networking / communication (such as wire-line and/or wireless and/or satellite) capability, Input/ Output mechanism. It means to include but not limited to Personal Computer, Cell Phone, PDA, Pocket PC, VoIP Phone, Pager, PSTN phone, Servers, Diskless Servers, Laptop, Soft phones (e.g. on PC, Laptop etc) , e-machines, intelligent peripherals /appliances ( such as smart vehicle, smart meters etc) which have communication and/or data processing capabilities. It means to include any type of communication capability such as audio, video, Instant Messaging, Fax. It includes multi-sensorial (e.g. taste, smell etc ) communication capability also. In the above definition user means to include a person (living being) or an entity/automata (such as robots etc) initiating the different operations. In the below specifications multi-media mean to include text and/or video and/or photo and/or audio and/or voice and/or speech and/or image.

There will be computing devices inside the box, house, vehicle, building, and community center i.e. things to be secured. Computing device (s) associated/attached with the things to be secured are referred as Securing Computing Device (SCD) further. SCD has one or all or any combination of processor, memory, networking / communication (such as wire-line and/or wireless and/or satellite) capability, Input/ Output mechanism. This computing device will be having network connectivity (wireless such as WI-FI, WI-MAX, Cellular etc) for the outside world. Optionally it might have the finger print, video, photo matching capability also. It might have DNA sample Collection /verifying capability also. This device will be having the connectivity to the back end server(s) farm for OAM (Operation, Administration and Maintenance) maintaining the usage data and who is coming in / going out, maintaining the heartbeat, and administrative interfaces for resetting the passwords etc. In different embodiment 0AM functionality might be implemented in SCD itself. In case of missing heat beat from the SCD, it will be treated as broken case and then physical entrance will be allowed. There will enough redundancy employed in SCD, so that it is 100% available. And it doesn't break. It may be having connectivity to multiple wireless provider(s). Optionally wire-line interface might be used for emergency/reset of authorization information such as password, photo -Id etc. SCD has the communication capability to user/entity controlled (un)portable computing device(s).

User's portable/un-portable computing device will be programmed/ configured to work in conjunction with SCD. Whenever a user/entity buys a lock (in the existing meaning) to secure something SCD is attached/ associated with the object/thing/geographic region to be secured and User/entity 's (un) portable computing device are configured with password authorization, secret question answer(s), display of preconfigured phrases, etc. It might have finger print scanning capability too. It might have picture/video taking capability for matching the photo ID / video (multimedia) recording for verification. It might have audio recording capability too for making sure, who is operating and what are surroundings. In future, it might have multi-sensorial capabilities too for recording air samples for smell, feel etc. It might have connectivity to identity theft protection device (s) also. In different embodiments these mechanism/capabilities might be employed selectively or in any combination these possible techniques. User's portable/unportable device will use any protocol to communicate with the computer/automatic/electronic lock attached with the things to be secured. There will be plurality of signal exchanges between SCD and user's (un) portable computing device for different operations such as lock/unlock, start/stop, open/close containing the information such as identity, type of operation, result of intended/requested operation, time of operation etc. Figure 1 shows different entities in the embodiment i.e. SCD, object (such as mechanical) restraining the entry and user's (un) portable computing device. There can be any number of networking nodes between SCD and user's (un)portable computing device.

According to one example of embodiment of message sequence in Figure 1, computing device of user/entity sends a signal containing its identity information and type of operation such as open via networking nodes to SCD. SCD compares the identity and based on the outcome, for example user is allowed, instructs the mechanical object to unlock and sends the signal containing the outcome to computing device of user/entity via networking nodes. SCD updates the Identity, time of entry etc in its database. The information can be exchanged in multiple signal handshakes. There can be failure/not allowed result scenarios too. The above description is just an example.

In case of lockers offered in banks, financial institutions, community centers, when a user opens an account or subscribe to service, (un) portable computing device of user is configured for working in cooperation with SCD inside.

In case of locks at home, buildings, office etc; authorized user's (un)portable computing device will be configured for access, and then it will be taking the finger print, password etc from the device to verify the personnel. Here also, portable device(s) of user(s) and SCD inside attached with geographic region such as building(s), home etc will be configured /programmed to work in conjunction/cooperation. Here door open and/or close operation is instructed by the (un)portable computing device of the user.

Instead of locksmith(s) who take care of resetting or breaking the locks when keys etc are lost or passwords etc are forgotten; here we will be having service provider(s), who will be resetting the passwords, configurations on the SCD and/or on the (un)portable computing device of the user. This operation will be done after asserting the identity of the user with the identity associated with the (un)portable computing device. This process can be manual, automatic via a machine, or in any combination of manual and automatic.

In case of vehicle, when vehicle is (re)sold, the owner's (un)portable computing device and SCD associated with the vehicle will be configured/programmed to work in conjunction. User's (un) portable computing device will have mechanism to lock/unlock the vehicle, lock/unlock the trunk, start/stop the engine, lock / unlock the fuel tank. This configuration includes the password, finger print, visual phrases, secret question answer, computation puzzles which humans can solve (or machines are configured with their answers) etc. Vehicle will be having an option to locate the (un) portable computing device of the owner. Option to trigger (push button, dial in etc) may be situated outside of the vehicle. This might be using different frequency band for this, the range for locating the key chain or portable computing device will be within the short range such as within homes. There will be plurality of signal(s) exchanged between the SCD associated with the vehicle and (un)portable computing device of the user via any number of networking nodes in the path. These signal(s) will be having different information such as identity, type of operation, result of intended operation, time of the operation etc.

When somebody rents a vehicle, then renting company configures/programs the renter's (un)portable computing device and SCD associated with the vehicle to work in conjunction. User's (un) portable computing device also gets charged for the usage, when they return the vehicle. This charging information such as credit/debit card number, bank account number, amount, type of currency etc is exchanged between the SCD and user's (un)portable computing device(s) via any number of networking nodes in the path.

Figure 2 shows different entities for vehicle operations using (un)portable computing device of a user. SCD within the vehicle have control over the fuel tank cap and/or trunk and/or door(s) and/or window(s) and/or engine operation such as start/stop. According to one example (un) portable computing device of a user sends a signal information containing identity information and/or operation such as open the door to SCD within the vehicle via different networking nodes. SCD within vehicle validates the identity and instructs the mechanical object to unlock the door. SCD within vehicle then informs using plurality of signal(s) to (un) portable computing device of the user the outcome of requested operation. There can be other mechanical such as visual/audio indications also for this on the vehicle. There can be multiple signal handshakes for this operation. There will be failure scenarios also. The given description is just one example.

In the current identity assertion, user has the control over the Photo identity document such as driver license, passport etc. With the smart card technology too, e-passport etc have the identity embedded in that. In different usage scenarios photo ID on these documents is verified with the person/entity engaged. These ID's can be tampered. According to one of the embodiment of the invention, as soon as user triggers any operation from it's (un)portable computing device with another computing device which may be in control of other entity. The photo ID associated with the (un) portable computing device is pushed by (fetched from) the third party maintaining the association between photo-identity and (un) portable computing device of user initiating the operation. According to yet another embodiment, there can biometric identifiers such as finger prints, DNA will be associated with the (un)portable computing device. If these devices are owned by a business entity, then association of business identifier with the biometric identifier will be provided by them. This association will be updated/deleted etc based on the different scenarios such as personnel leaving the business entity, closure of business entity, merger of business entities etc. Identity information is exchanged using plurality of signal(s) among different computing devices via any number of networking nodes in the path. For example photo-id might be exchanged in HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) with any file format for the photo-id.

Figure 3 shows different entities in third party providing the identity information. According to one example, (un) portable computing device of user engages with any operation SCD or any other computing device or entity such as personnel controlling other computing device. In this signal (un)portable computing device of user provides its identifier such as cell number, SIP AOR (Session Initiation Protocol: Address Of Record, refer RFC 3261 on www. ietf. org for details) other identity information such as finger prints, photo Id etc. The SCD or other /remote computing devices fetches/gets the identity information from the third party using plurality of signal(s) exchanged with it. SCD or other/remote computing device compares the identity information and indicate the result to (un)portable computing device of user using plurality of signal(s). According to yet another embodiment of the invention the identity (such as DNA sample, photo Id, finger prints) verification is done automatically by any machine or manually or combination of manual and automatic.

The above specifications include security related procedure (s) such as encryption, authorization, authentication, integrity protection etc. Based on the different usage scenario, they will be applied in all or in any combination of them. Invention is not limited by these.

Invention is not limited by the hardware, software being used to implement the above specifications. Some part of the specifications might be implemented in hardware or in software. Invention is not limited by the location/place (hardware, software) of functionality being implemented. There can be any number of networking nodes between the user controlled computing device and SCD.

Invention is not limited by language/dialect being used in the geographic region. It includes all language(s) and dialect(s). The above specification are applicable to any form of encoding such as ASCII, EBCDIC etc, and any language and mixture of language (s)/dialect(s) and any form of symbols used in the process.

In the following description of Figure 4 (un) portable computing devices of user and SCD are described. Figure 4 can be viewed as for changing the existing infrastructure or development of brand new infrastructure for it. Figure 4 of the drawings shows a system 400 for correcting a distorted image using the techniques described above, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The system 400 typically includes at least one processor 402 coupled to a memory 404. The processor 402 may represent one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), and the memory 404 may represent random access memory (RAM) devices comprising a main storage of the system 400, as well as any supplemental levels of memory e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or back-up memories (e.g. programmable or flash memories), read-only memories, etc. In addition, the memory 404 may be considered to include memory storage physically located elsewhere in the system 400, e.g. any cache memory in the processor 402.

The system 400 also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating information externally. For interface with a user or operator, the system 400 may include one or more user input devices 406 (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner etc.) and a display 408 (e.g., a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel). For additional storage, the hardware 400 may also include one or more mass storage devices 410, e.g., a floppy or other removable disk drive, a hard disk drive, a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g. a Compact Disk (CD) drive, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) drive, etc.) and/or a tape drive, among others. Furthermore, the system 400 may include an interface with one or more networks 412 (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, and/or the Internet among others) to permit the communication of information with other computers coupled to the networks. It should be appreciated that the system 400 typically includes suitable analog and/or digital interfaces between the processor 402 and each of the components 404, 406, 408 and 412 as is well known in the art.

The system 400 operates under the control of an operating system 414, and executes various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, etc. indicated collectively by reference numeral 416 to perform the correction techniques described above.

The system 400 when modeled for the existing applications is changed for adopting the operations such as lock/unlock, start/stop, open/close described in specification changed in many ways. Invention includes adoption of the system in 400 for the operations described in specification by any mechanisms and/or methods. The system 400 when modeled for third party maintaining the identity information association with (un) portable computing device of a user is changed in many ways. Invention includes adoption and /or new development of the system in 400 for third party maintaining identity information with associated (un)portable computing device(s).

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention, may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as "computer programs." The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations necessary to execute elements involving the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. Examples of computer- readable media include but are not limited to recordable type media such as volatile and nonvolatile memory devices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1) Lock and/or unlock operation using (un)portable computing device(s).

2) Open and/or close operation using (un)portable computing device(s).

3) Elimination of hard key(s) and/or lock(s) which operates with hard key(s).

4) Elimination of badge based access and access card(s).

5) Access control to protected geographic region and/or objects via (un)portable computing device (s).

6) Associating/ Attaching and/or Removing Computing device(s) having any type of connectivity to network with objects to be secured or for controlling access to geographic region. These computing device(s) are referred as Securing Computing Device (SCD) in further claims. Invention is independent of name and acronym used for it.

7) SCD in claim 6 has connectivity to OAM (Operation, Administration and Maintenance] servers and/ Or they have 0AM functionality within themselves.

8) SCD in claim 6 has wire-line connectivity which goes through blocking/authorization object.

9) By using wire-line and/or wireless and/or satellite connectivity locking functionality in SCD is reset or broken.

10) Using (un)portable computing devices optionally in control of person/entity in conjunction with SCD for open and/or close operation.

11) Using (un)portable computing device(s) optionally in control of person/entity in conjunction with SCD for lock and/or unlock operation.

12) Opening and /or closing of fuel tank, trunk of a vehicle by using (un)portable computing device and SCD within vehicle.

13) Renting company for a vehicle configures/programs the renter's (un) portable computing device and SCD within the vehicle to work in conjunction.

14) In claim 13 renter's computing device gets the charged for the usage at the time of return and/or loss.

15) Locating Key and/or controlling (un)portable computing device for vehicle from the vehicle. 16) Service Providers for providing maintenance and/or resetting functionality of described operations in claims 1 to 15 for open/close, lock/unlock operation.

17) Capturing Multi-media and/or multi-sensorial and/or biometric such as DNA samples and/or verifying its association with owner of (un)portable computing device by using reference identity information provided by third party.

18) Verifying Photo-ID provided by third party in real time.

19) Any type of security mechanism such as for identity assertion and/or authorization and/or authentication and/or encryption procedures are applicable to above claims 1 to 18.

20) Security related procedures in claims 17, 18 and 19 can be automatic by a machine or manual or combination of both of these.

21) Plurality of signal(s) containing information for operations defined in above claims from 1 to 20 is/are exchanged among/between different entities.

22) Any new hardware and/or software developed for above claims from 1 to 20.

23) Any change in existing hardware and/or software for above claims from 1 to 20.

24) Above claims from 1 to 21 are applicable to any language(s) and/or dialect(s).

25) Usage of any encoding mechanism and/or any form of symbols for above claims from 1 to 21.