Wearable device, authentication method, and recording medium

• US 20080216171A1
• Filed: 02/11/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sugino, Akinobu, Sano, Akane, Tsuruta, Masaaki, Ozaki, Nozomu, Sako, Yoichiro, Ito, Taiji, Sekizawa, Hidehiko, Asukai, Masamichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,112,701 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3231 Biological data, e.g. fingerprint, voice or retina network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using biometrical features in a packet data network H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/33 using wearable devices, e.g. using a smartwatch or smart-glasses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent

Abstract

A wearable device is provided that is used while being worn on a body of a user. The wearable device includes a biometric-information authentication portion that acquires biometric information from the user for biometric authentication. The wearable device acquires biometric information from a portion in contact with or in the vicinity of the user'"'"'s body to perform the biometric authentication without requesting the user to operate for the biometric authentication.

Claims

1. A wearable device that is used while being worn on a body of a user, the wearable device comprising.

a biometric-information authentication portion that acquires biometric information from the user for biometric authentication.

2. The wearable device according to claim 1, further comprising a device-wear detection portion detecting whether the device is worn or not, wherein

the biometric-information authentication portion performs the biometric authentication when the device-wear detection portion detects the device is worn, and

the biometric-information authentication portion performs no biometric authentication when the device-wear detection portion detects the device is not worn.

3. The wearable device according to claim 1, wherein

the biometric authentication performs the biometric authentication again after a predetermined amount of time has passed since the biometric-information authentication portion first biometrically authenticates the user.

4. The wearable device according to claim 3, wherein

the biometric-information authentication portion performs the biometric authentication regularly.

5. The wearable device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a function portion that controls execution of one or more functions; and

an operation portion that performs an operation to the function portion,

wherein

the biometric-information authentication portion performs the biometric authentication when the operation portion performs the operation.

6. The wearable device according to claim 1, further comprising.

a storage portion that stores profile data including the biometric information for each user, wherein

the biometric-information authentication portion performs the biometric authentication according to the biometric information acquired from the user'"'"'s body and the profile data stored in the storage portion.

7. The wearable device according to claim 6, further comprising.

a function portion that controls execution of one or more functions,

wherein

the profile data further includes function information in which it is possible to set enabling or disabling for each of the one or more functions, and

the function portion uses the function information of the profile data to enable or disable each of the one or more functions.

8. The wearable device according to claim 6, further comprising.

a function portion that controls execution of one or more functions,

wherein

the storage portion stores one or more sets of content data performed by the function portion,

the profile data further includes content-data authority information associated with execution of the content data, and

the function portion uses content information included in the profile data to enable or disable the one or more functions for each set of content data and for each function.

9. The wearable device according to claim 6, further comprising a function portion that controls execution of one or more functions, wherein

the storage portion stores one or more sets of content data performed by the function portion,

each set of content data includes user information that defines the user who is permitted to use the content data, and

the function portion enables or disables the one or more functions for each set of content data and for each function according to the profile data and the user information.

10. The wearable device according to claim 6, further comprising.

a communication portion that communicates with at least one external device,

wherein

the profile data further includes communication information that defines a predetermined external device for communication, and

the communication portion communicates with the predetermined external device according to the communication information of the profile data.

11. The wearable device according to claim 10, wherein

when the biometric-information authentication portion performs the biometric authentication, the communication portion communicates with the predetermined external device to notify the external device of the biometric authentication that has been performed.

12. An authentication method in a wearable device, the wearable device being used while being worn on a body of a user, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting whether the device is worn or not; and

acquiring biometric information from the user for biometric authentication when the device wear is detected in the detection step, and acquiring no biometric information from the user when no device wear is detected.

13. A recording medium that records a program for use in a wearable device, the wearable device being used while being worn on a body of a user, the recording medium recording the program to allow a computer to function as means comprising:

detection means for detecting whether the device is worn or not; and

acquiring means for acquiring biometric information from the user for biometric authentication when the detection means detects the device is worn, and for acquiring no biometric information from the user when the detection means detects the device is not worn.