U.S. patent application number 12/308061 was filed with the patent office on 2010-03-18 for automated control system for multi-level authority to operate electronic and electrical devices.
This patent application is currently assigned to INNOHOME OY. Invention is credited to Matti Myllymaki.
Application Number | 20100066507 12/308061 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36651484 |
Filed Date | 2010-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100066507 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Myllymaki; Matti |
March 18, 2010 |
Automated Control System for Multi-Level Authority to Operate
Electronic and Electrical Devices
Abstract
The invention relates to an automated control system for
multi-level authority to operate electronic and electrical
equipment, said system comprising one or more wireless or wired
controlled devices and one or more separate communicator and/or
transmitter devices for an operation authorizing code and/or
separate user identifiers for communicating the codes to a customer
or a device. In the process of granting authorities to operate, the
system utilizes, as positional data for a user or a device, the
base station information of a mobile phone network and/or at close
range a wired or wireless communication link, such as a bluetooth
communication link.
Inventors: |
Myllymaki; Matti; (Helsinki,
FI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH (DC)
1500 K STREET, N.W., SUITE 1100
WASHINGTON
DC
20005-1209
US
|
Assignee: |
INNOHOME OY
Helsinki
FI
|
Family ID: |
36651484 |
Appl. No.: |
12/308061 |
Filed: |
June 6, 2007 |
PCT Filed: |
June 6, 2007 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FI2007/000161 |
371 Date: |
October 23, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/10.4 ;
340/10.51; 455/41.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2242/14 20130101;
H04L 12/282 20130101; G06F 2221/2113 20130101; G08C 2201/93
20130101; H04M 2242/30 20130101; H04L 12/2818 20130101; G06F 21/31
20130101; H04M 1/72457 20210101; G05B 15/02 20130101; G06F 21/88
20130101; G08C 2201/42 20130101; G07C 9/20 20200101; G06F 21/43
20130101; G06F 2221/2111 20130101; H04L 12/281 20130101; G08C
2201/61 20130101; H04M 3/382 20130101; H04L 12/2834 20130101; G08C
2201/91 20130101; H04L 12/2803 20130101; G08C 17/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/10.4 ;
455/41.2; 340/10.51 |
International
Class: |
H04Q 5/22 20060101
H04Q005/22; H04B 7/00 20060101 H04B007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 8, 2006 |
FI |
20065390 |
Claims
1. An automated control system for multi-level authority to operate
electronic and electrical devices, said system comprising one or
more wireless or wired controlled devices and one or more separate
communicator and/or transmitter devices for an operation
authorizing code and/or separate user identifiers for communicating
the codes to a customer or the device, wherein the permission to
operate electronic or electrical devices or the control or delivery
of a code authorizing it proceeds automatically on the basis of the
location of an authorized user and/or the device or the
predetermined mutual relationship therebetween, such that the
security or operating level of the protected device may change
according to a location and a service mode, such that the
geographic data of base stations in a mobile phone network is used
as a code and the user and/or the device must be located within the
range of a predetermined base station in a mobile phone network and
the level of operating authority is determined on the basis of the
location of various base stations, or such that the presence of a
user is identified by means of the base station information of a
mobile phone network and a short-range wireless communication link,
such as bluetooth or Wlan, in such a way that the short-range
communication link is activated automatically once the user arrives
within the range of a determined base station in a mobile phone
network, or an operating authority code is transmitted from the
factory to the user by way of an authorized dealer, or the accepted
operating location of the device is identified at close range by
means of a code transmitter operating either over a wired or
wireless communication link, the activation of which proceeds as
described above or by connecting the device to its normal operating
environment, such as a charging unit or a docking station or by way
of a home automation, security or surveillance system.
2. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transmission or
communication of an operation permitting or authorizing code is
effected by any of the alternatives listed as follows: by means of
a charging unit, a service power supply system, a clearance
monitoring or a smart home/car control system, and useful options
for a security code include childproof locks available for
entertainment equipment, mobile phone passwords, base station
information, a bluetooth/Wlan communication link or a separate code
assigned for this service.
3. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the security code for
a protected device is communicated by way of either supply logistic
or electrical payment systems in isolation from the actual
product.
4. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the security code is
not made available to a customer until at a sale transaction.
5. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the seller of a
protected device is capable of communicating a security code to
his/her customer by a separate business or personal encryption
code.
6. A system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the right of a
protected device seller to communicate a security code to his/her
customer is verified by a logistic system authorization of the
correct seller according to the shipping address of the
product.
7. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the protected device
includes at least one or more security codes covering a range of
protection levels, which can be delivered to the device
automatically with prior known data transfer methods from outside
the device by using prior known data transfer interfaces.
8. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the code transmitter
is apart from a protected device either as a separate code
transmitter or integrated with other protected or unprotected
devices.
9. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the location of a code
transmitter can change virtually either randomly or specifically or
as distributed amongst one or more protected devices.
10. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein one and the same or
several different security codes can be used for protecting a
plurality of devices, and in that the code(s) can be protected by
prior known protection methods.
11. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the security code(s)
is (are) transmitted automatically to a protected device either
under the control of an operating mode, randomly, at desired
intervals and/or by way of a burglar control, clearance monitoring
system or some other personal identification method as the presence
of an authorized user is detected.
12. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the protected device
can operate in a plurality of various restricted operating modes
depending on each permitted protection level.
13. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the protected device
has a peripheral or data transfer equipment thereof containing a
code transmitter, whereby a desired protection level can be
established by various operating conditions.
14. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the security codes
can be stored in a separate memory unit detachable from the code
transmitter.
15. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the use of a security
code is prominently displayed in the products with a relevant
registered brand.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a control system for the authority
to operate electronic and electrical devices, the level of
authority provided thereby being subject to change automatically
according to location and service mode. The system includes one or
more controlled devices and an individual security code controlling
the operation thereof, and an identification of one or more
authorized users according to a location or service conditions, as
well as an automated control of the security code.
[0002] Traditionally, security relating to the use of electronic
devices has been implemented either by a burglar alarm or an access
code capable of denying unauthorized use of the device. Examples
include burglar alarms and code-encrypted car radios as well as
mobile phones. The purpose of security codes and alarm equipment is
to prevent unauthorized use as well as a theft of the device. A
problem with such protection methods is that people do not know how
to use the equipment or become tired of repeatedly tapping codes,
which thus remain unused. One unsolved problem is presented for
example by portable entertainment equipment such as MP3 players,
which have no protection whatsoever and which are consequently
stolen directly from users. Car radios are also often used without
a removable face panel, thus facilitating a theft thereof. The most
interesting burglary objects at home and office are often
electronic equipment for being the easiest items to convert into
money. Home electronics is not generally protected but, instead,
covered by burglar alarm systems which do not disable the equipment
after theft. As for burglar alarms, it is known that break-ins
cannot be prevented by those alone, such systems being subject to
sabotage and over 50% of people not having them in active mode,
which is why the best security could be provided by giving the
object a visible protection and in such a way that the snatched
piece of property cannot be exploited. Stealing electronic
equipment during the course of shipping, storage and from retail
stores is also relatively easy.
[0003] Controlling the service mode of home automation has been
traditionally effected by an identifier or action calling for
personal activity. Typically, a user sets the system with push
buttons in an absence or long absence control mode and upon arrival
at home in a presence control mode encrypted by a code or some
other electronic identifier. In the latest solutions, the
identification can be effected in a wireless and automatic manner,
but the service is limited to the immediate ambience of an object
and the level of absence cannot be determined automatically. A
problem with these traditional solutions, e.g. in reference to
arriving at home, is a slow response time of temperature
regulation, the proper function of which would require earlier
knowledge about when the users are due to arrive, which at present
calls for an active personal remote control or the use of a control
timer.
[0004] It is an object of the invention to create a novel control
system for operating authority, which grants a right to operate
electronic and electrical devices automatically without the user's
activity. The system has a range of application extending from
granting the right of using a single mobile device all the way to
automated control of a multi-level mode in building automation. In
electronic devices, the right of use can also be verified from
manufacture all the way to end use. The authorization is
implemented by a protected operating code and by its automatic
communication, depending either on the intended use of a device or
on the location or relocation of an authorized person. The level of
operating authority granted by the system may also change
automatically according to the operating condition.
[0005] This object is accomplished on the basis of the
characterizing features presented in the appended claims.
[0006] What is novel about the protection system is that the
protection of an electronic device is automated in a way of
enabling its utilization in devices intended for both children and
the elderly. The protection system enables securing electronic and
electrical devices without the user having to tap in security codes
as protection takes place in the background automatically, such
that the code can be put out by a place in which the device is used
or by peripherals attached to the protected device. An applicable
protection code can be provided by numerically encoded childproof
locks of existing entertainment equipment or mobile phone
protection codes, base station information, a bluetooth
communication link, with no modifications needed in the equipment.
What is essentially novel is that the above-described existing
codes are used and controlled automatically. Thus, a device can be
protected by an individual code as early as at a manufacturing
plant. The protection code put in at a manufacturing plant can be
delivered, prior to first use of the device, through the supplier's
logistic system, such that it will only be given to a purchasing
customer at a sale transaction as a number, which is only activated
by the user as the device is set up for active service. The
protection code can also be delivered to a customer by way of
existing electrical payment media or a mobile phone. A security
code transmitter employed during service can be integrated with or
disposed for example in a charging unit, a service power supply
system, a local network, a service server, a burglar alarm system
or a smart home control system, from all of which there is either a
wired or wireless communication link to a protected device. The
code is transmitted automatically under the control of an
identification made by an operation-authorized person or the code
communicated by peripherals or a service environment is identified
by the protected device. The protection of portable equipment can
be effected by using a charging unit with a code transmitter
integrated therewith, whereby the battery can only be charged or
the device programmed with a voltage source that is part of the
device or encoded therefor.
[0007] Another novel feature is that a device cannot be used,
except in a restricted manner, without a security code, the
operation of e.g. a mobile phone being only possible by using
previously programmed numbers or within the range of a desired base
station and the listening of an MP3 player only for as long as long
the battery stays alive. Neither can an MP3 player be loaded with
new music without a charging unit or a PC encoded therefor. Hence,
the electronic device is useless for anyone who snatches it. By
virtue of a restricted operating mode, the maintenance of equipment
is nevertheless possible without the code. In particular reference
to the protection of mobile phones, the method makes it impossible
for a snatcher to use the phone for his/her own purposes, which
means that snatching mobile phones from young and elderly people is
no longer tempting. The mobile phone may also use a prior known
base station as a working condition, in which case it can only be
used within the coverage range of accepted base stations or the
protection status may change according to a base station. Thus, for
example, the switched-on status of a charging unit allows for the
programming of numbers and the exchange of a SIM card and a base
station near home allows for unrestricted calling and a
school-covering base station only allows for calling programmed
numbers.
[0008] A further novel feature is also that a single joint code
transmitter, mounted on or integrated with an electric distribution
board or some other control device in the summer cabin, at home or
in the office, which, on the basis of a bluetooth communication
link and base station information regarding the home-covering
mobile phone network, identifies the presence of accepted persons,
is capable of protecting all desired pieces of home electronic
entertainment equipment. The joint code transmitter provides a
permanent or transient security code through the intermediary of an
electrical network, a radio-frequency or infrared signal or some
other prior known data transfer method whenever an authorized
person arrives home or when he/she enters the range of a
home-covering mobile phone base station. The system also enables an
automatic identification of leaving home, as well as a long or
short absence. The identification takes place by means of a
person's mobile phone, whereby, when the person leaves the range of
a home base station network, the program integrated with the mobile
phone can transmit a message to the home automation system
regarding the departure. When being for example far away from home,
the mobile phone program or the operator service can be used for
detecting a distance from home and to automatically control
information regarding both departures and arrivals. Hence, for
example the heating of a summer cabin can be remote-activated
beforehand automatically when, on the basis of base station
information, it is perceived that a person is heading towards the
summer cabin and his/her arrival in the destination is ultimately
identified by a bluetooth communication link, which is
automatically switched on by the mobile phone once arriving within
the range of a base station closest to the cabin.
[0009] In offices, the system can also be used as clearance
monitoring information for denying the unauthorized use of all
equipment or the PC of a particular person. In connection with
computer hardware, it is possible to apply wireless or wired
network technology for transmitting a code, wherein the "virtual
transmitter" uses bluetooth identification. This also enables the
protection of PDA equipment which uses a wireless local network,
such that said equipment is only capable of operating within and
not at all outside a desired area.
[0010] Another novel feature is that all electronic equipment
aboard an automobile can be protected by means of a single code
transmitter, which is concealed within structures or integrated
with a bus used in the automobile and which is controlled by a
bluetooth communication link automatically, whereby the user is
neither required to memorize input codes nor to remove operating
panels.
[0011] A still further novel feature is that the system enables
setting up the devices in various modes as desired by the customer.
The restricted mode can be switched on in such a way that TV is on
only the presence of parents while children, whenever home by
themselves, are only able to watch children's channels. A
restricted mode can also be applied to a telephone whereby,
consistently with the preceding example, in the parents' absence it
is only possible to call accepted numbers and, when absent, the
phone calls are automatically diverted only to an alarm center or
emergency number.
[0012] The invention will now be described in more detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
[0013] FIG. 1 shows the system in operation from manufacturing to
retailing.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows the system in operation with entertainment
equipment.
[0015] FIG. 3 shows the system in operation at home.
[0016] FIG. 4 shows the system in operation with a mobile
phone.
[0017] A system of the invention is first described in its
operation in reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows the system in
operation in terms of protecting the supply chain of electronic
devices from a manufacturing plant to a retail store and to the end
user. In the figure, the product has an individual protection code
put in at a manufacturing plant 1, which code is sent to a logistic
server 2 that transmits the security code to an end customer upon
receiving a message from a retailer 3 regarding a sale transaction
of the device and a mobile phone number for the end customer. The
logistic server also verifies whether a product shipped from the
manufacturing plant 1 is in the possession of an authorized
retailer 3 as the sale transaction is confirmed. Hence, the
customer picks up the product at the store 3 and the security code
is transmitted to him/her by a mobile phone as he/she makes a call
to the logistic server 2. This way a product 6 can be delivered all
the way to a place of use and it is not until there 7 that the
security code allows for operation of the device. Accordingly, the
entire supply chain is secured from the factory all the way to the
location of final use.
[0018] FIG. 2 depicts the system in operation with entertainment
equipment. The protected product, for example an MP 3 player 6, is
activated at the time of its first use by means of a security code
obtained at the sale transaction, such that the code is tapped in
by the keys of the device or a PC 8 or by way of the internet/a
mobile phone network 5, the code becoming recorded in a user-right
authorizing memory of the PC 8 and a charging unit 8. Thereafter,
it is no longer necessary to input the code, whenever the device 6
is then connected to the PC or the charging unit, the latter shall
confirm an operating authority by transmitting a security code 7 to
the device. Thus, the device cannot be loaded or new data recorded
in its memory without a charging unit or a PC authorizing the right
of use 8.
[0019] FIG. 3 depicts the system in operation at home. In the
figure, protected devices 6 consist of home entertainment
equipment, a standard feature of which is a childproof lock code
that can be used as a security code all the way from a
manufacturing plant. A device 8 authorizing the right of use is the
home automation or security system operating device, featuring a
wireless communication for transmitting a protection code 7 to
entertainment equipment (IR), heaters (RF) 10, and a mobile phone
(bluetooth) 11 or a mobile phone network 12. As the equipment is
set up for first use, a protection code is supplied by way of
either the mobile phone 11 or the mobile phone network 12 to the
operation authority control device 8. When a person in possession
of an operating authority leaves the place of use, that will be
detected by a disconnection of the short-range mobile phone
communication (bluetooth) 11, in which case the operating authority
control device 8 activates childproof locks for the entertainment
equipment. Under the control of an extra service by the mobile
phone or the operator, a message is sent to the control device 8
about the user going outside the range of a mobile phone base
station 16 covering the place of use. Upon receiving the message,
the control device 8 sets heating of the site to a lower level, for
example to 18 degrees. In the event that a person authorized to use
the site goes away, for example abroad, he/she shall arrive within
the range of a mobile phone network 15 in another country. Under
the control of an extra service by the mobile phone or the
operator, a message is sent to the control device 8 about the user
stepping outside the country's borders for further dropping the
temperature to a lower level. When the user returns, the control
device 8 shall be respectively informed of an arrival in the home
country or in the coverage range of a place-of-use base station,
whereby the control device 8 sets up the heating stepwise to a
normal level and activates the short-range mobile phone
communication (bluetooth) 11. As the user arrives within a coverage
range of the short-range communication (bluetooth) 11, the control
device 8 shall switch off the childproof locks of the entertainment
equipment. Hence, the method enables protecting entertainment
equipment, such that the use thereof outside an authorized place of
use shall be disabled and the protection thereof shall be
controlled automatically. The control of an operating authority for
heating proceeds also automatically without the user having to
transmit any control commands in advance.
[0020] FIG. 4 depicts the system in operation with a mobile phone.
The protected device comprises a mobile phone 6 and a protection or
security code 7 is provided by the base station information of a
mobile phone network. The mobile phone detects whenever the user is
within the range of whichever base station 5, 20 of a mobile phone
network. This information is applied to control the protection of a
mobile phone in such a way that, when the phone is for example
within the range of a home base station, it is possible to make
unrestricted calls but the programming of new numbers or the
switching of a sim card is disabled. Respectively, when a mobile
phone leaves the range of a home base station 5 and steps into the
range of any other base station 20, the phone only enables calls to
speed-dial, numbers. The programming of mobile phone numbers or the
switching of a sim card can only be performed within the coverage
range of the home base station 5 and with a right-of-use authorized
charging unit, as described in reference to FIG. 2. Thus, the
system enables protecting a mobile phone automatically, nor can it
be loaded or put to full service except with its specific home base
station and charging unit.
[0021] What is essential about the invention is the fact that, as
location information in the process of granting operating
authorities, the system utilizes the base station information of a
mobile phone network and/or at close range a wired or wireless
communication link, such as a bluetooth communication link.
* * * * *