Communication system for performing authentication process of peripheral device

• US 20080005116A1
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Uno, Fumitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,941,579 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0622 in relation to access
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays

Abstract

A search-instruction-data creating unit issues a search request command to a peripheral device, and creates search instruction data including a predetermined field that stores supplementary information. A search-instruction-data transmitting unit transmits the search instruction data to the peripheral device. A security-reference-information transmitting unit transmits, to the peripheral device, security reference information serving as the supplementary information. A search-report-data generating unit generates a search report data upon receiving the search instruction data. A search-report-data transmitting unit transmits the search report data to a host device. A supplementary-information extracting unit extracts the supplementary information from the predetermined field of the search instruction data. An authenticating unit authenticates an access authority for accessing a storage medium from the host device, based both on security master information stored in the storage medium and on the security reference information that is received from the host device.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a host device having an authority to initiate a communication event; and

a peripheral device that is connected to the host device and that serves as a communication target of the host device, the host device being configured to issue a command for executing the communication event to the peripheral device, the peripheral device being configured to execute a data process based on the command upon receiving the command and to return to the host device response information based on execution results of the data process, the host device and the peripheral device having a communication protocol that restricts a direction for issuing the command to a one-way direction from the host device to the peripheral device, the peripheral device being constituted by a storage device having a slot to which a storage medium can be detachably mounted, the storage medium having a non-volatile memory that accepts data access including reading and writing of data, the peripheral device being configured to execute the data access to the storage medium based on the communication event,

the host device comprising;

a search-instruction-data creating unit that issues, to the peripheral device, a search request command that requests that the peripheral device performs a search report process for the peripheral device itself, and that creates search instruction data indicative of contents of the search report process and having a first predetermined frame format, the first predetermined frame format including a predetermined field that stores supplementary information;

a search-instruction-data transmitting unit that transmits the search instruction data to the peripheral device;

a security-reference-information acquiring unit that acquires security reference information; and

a security-reference-information transmitting unit that transmits, to the peripheral device, the security reference information that is acquired by the security-reference-information acquiring unit and that serves as the supplementary information,

the peripheral device comprising;

a search-report-data generating unit that generates a search report data having a second predetermined frame format upon receiving the search instruction data;

a search-report-data transmitting unit that transmits to the host device the search report data as the response information;

a supplementary-information extracting unit that extracts the supplementary information from the predetermined field of the search instruction data; and

an authenticating unit that authenticates an access authority for accessing the storage medium from the host device, based both on a security master information stored in the storage medium and on the security reference information that is received from the host device.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device and the host device are connected via a serial communication mechanism that allows the host device to poll the peripheral device, and that prohibits the peripheral device from polling the host device, the communication system being capable of implementing data transfers between the host device and the peripheral device for executing the communication event using a form of serial communications in which the host device polls the peripheral device.

3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the serial communication mechanism follows USB protocol.

4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the host device further comprises an authentication-result requesting unit that transmits authentication-result request information to the peripheral device as the supplementary information, thereby requesting authentication-result reflecting information that reflects authentication results obtained by the authenticating unit;

wherein the peripheral device further comprises an authentication-result returning unit that returns the search report data to the host device as the response information, the search report data including the authentication-result reflecting information in a predetermined field, the authentication-result reflecting information serving as supplementary response information in response to the supplementary information; and

wherein the host device further comprises an authentication-result-reflecting-information outputting unit that outputs the authentication-result reflecting information returned by the authentication-result returning unit.

5. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the host device further comprises:

an access-mode selecting unit that selects either one of the normal mode and the security mode as the access mode; and

a normal-mode-shift-instruction-information transmitting unit that transmits normal-mode-shift instruction information to the peripheral device as the supplementary information when the normal mode has been selected on the host device, the normal-mode-shift instruction information instructing the peripheral device to shift into the normal mode;

wherein the peripheral device further comprises a normal-mode-setting-complete-report-information returning unit that returns, to the host device, normal-mode-setting-complete report information contained in a predetermined field of the search report data when the access-mode setting unit has set the access mode to the normal mode, the normal-mode-setting-complete report information reporting that the normal mode has been set and serving as supplementary response information in response to the supplementary information;

wherein the host device further comprises an inputting unit that inputs the security reference information; and

wherein the security-reference-information transmitting unit transmits the inputted security reference information to the peripheral device as the supplementary information.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium has a storage area divided into a normal area that can be accessed from the host device, even when the authenticating unit has rejected authentication of access privileges, and a security area that can be accessed from the host device only when the authenticating unit has accepted authentication of access privileges;

and

wherein the peripheral device further comprises;

an access-mode setting unit that sets an access mode for accessing the storage medium to one of a normal mode allowing access to only the normal area, and a security mode allowing access to the security area; and

an access-mode-setting controlling unit that controls the access-mode setting unit to set the access mode to the security mode only when the authenticating unit has accepted authentication.

7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the host device further comprises an access-mode-report requesting unit that transmits access-mode-report instruction information to the peripheral device as the supplementary information, thereby requesting that the peripheral device report a type of access mode set in the peripheral device;

wherein the peripheral device further comprises an access-mode-report returning unit that returns the search report data to the host device as the response information, the search report data including access-mode-report information indicative of the type of access mode in a predetermined field, the access-mode-report information serving as supplementary response information in response to the supplementary information; and

wherein the host device further comprises an access-mode-type displaying unit that displays the type of access mode returned by the access-mode-report returning unit.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein the host device further comprises:

an access-mode selecting unit that selects either one of the normal mode and the security mode as the access mode; and

a normal-mode-shift-instruction-information transmitting unit that transmits normal-mode-shift instruction information to the peripheral device as the supplementary information when the normal mode has been selected on the host device, the normal-mode-shift instruction information instructing the peripheral device to shift into the normal mode;

wherein the peripheral device further comprises a normal-mode-setting-complete-report-information returning unit that returns, to the host device, normal-mode-setting-complete report information contained in a predetermined field of the search report data when the access-mode setting unit has set the access mode to the normal mode, the normal-mode-setting-complete report information reporting that the normal mode has been set and serving as supplementary response information in response to the supplementary information;

wherein the host device further comprises an inputting unit that inputs the security reference information; and

wherein the security-reference-information transmitting unit transmits the inputted security reference information to the peripheral device as the supplementary information.

9. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication protocol specifies that the predetermined field of the search instruction data stores primary information that is different from the supplementary information;

and

wherein the search-instruction-data creating unit stores the supplementary information in the predetermined field together with the primary information.

10. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined field in the search instruction data is an allocation-length setting field for storing allocation-length information used to specify a memory region on the storage medium, the memory region being allocated for reading or writing of data when the peripheral device executes the communication event for reading or writing of data in the storage medium according to the communication protocol;

and

wherein the search-instruction-data creating unit stores the supplementary information in the allocation-length setting field, such that the supplementary information shares the allocation-length setting field with the allocation-length information that serves as the primary information.

11. The communication system according to claim 10, wherein the allocation-length setting field is set to a predetermined bit length in the communication protocol;

wherein a bit length for a maximum possible allocation length is set smaller than the predetermined bit length; and

wherein, when the allocation-length setting field stores an allocation length exceeding the maximum possible allocation length, the supplementary-information extracting unit determines that an actual value of the allocation length equals to the maximum possible allocation length regardless of the allocation length described in the allocation-length setting field, and extracts bit values that exceeds the maximum possible allocation length as the supplementary information.

12. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device further comprises:

an exchange-notification-information holding unit that holds exchange notification information that is used to notify the host device that the storage medium has been exchanged when such an exchange has occurred; and

an exchange-notification-information holding controlling unit that clears the exchange notification information when a predetermined first-type command has been received from the host device and the first-type command has been executed, and that maintains the exchange notification information when a second-type command has been received from the host device and the second-type command has been executed, the second-type command being different from the first-type command; and

wherein the second-type command is used as the search request command.

13. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein the search request command is a configuration-attribute search request command that commands the peripheral device to report configuration-attribute identification information that identifies configuration and attributes of the peripheral device.

14. The communication system according to claim 13, wherein the communication protocol is SCSI protocol that uses an Inquiry command as the search request command.

15. A peripheral device that is configured to be connected to a host device and that serves as a communication target of the host device, the host device being configured to issue a command for executing the communication event to the peripheral device, the peripheral device being configured to execute a data process based on the command upon receiving the command and to return to the host device response information based on execution results of the data process, the host device and the peripheral device having a communication protocol that restricts a direction for issuing the command to a one-way direction from the host device to the peripheral device, the peripheral device being constituted by a storage device having a slot to which a storage medium can be detachably mounted, the storage medium having a non-volatile memory that accepts data access including reading and writing of data, the peripheral device being configured to execute the data access to the storage medium based on the communication event, the peripheral device comprising:

a search-report-data generating unit that generates a search report data having a second predetermined frame format upon receiving search instruction data from the host device, the search instruction data having a first predetermined frame format that includes a predetermined field that stores supplementary information;

a search-report-data transmitting unit that transmits to the host device the search report data as the response information;

an supplementary-information extracting unit that extracts the supplementary information from the predetermined field of the search instruction data; and

an authenticating unit that authenticates an access authority for accessing the storage medium from the host device, based both on a security master information stored in the storage medium and on a security reference information that is received from the host device.