System and Method for Secure Addition of Machine Readable Identification to an Off-line Database

• US 20130238536A1
• Filed: 11/22/2011
• Published: 09/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Liberty Plugins, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Liberty Plugins, Inc.
• Inventors: Outwater, Chris, Redmann, William Gibbens
• Granted Patent: US 9,652,721 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/12
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/72 Charging station selection relying on external data
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/80 Time limits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/20 by driver identification
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/305 Communication interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/665 Methods related to measuring, billing or payment
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/68 Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/005 dispensed for the electrical charging of vehicles electrical charging as such, B60L50/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

A system that allows secure identification tokens (e.g., smart cards or RFID tags), often used for enabling such systems, to be securely added to a secure, local database of identification tokens authorized to operate the device, system or service. Such authorizations may be open-ended or have an expiration date. The addition of the identification token is achieved without requiring communication with a central controller by wired or wireless means, but is instead triggered by a message authorizing the addition of an identification token to the local database. The same invention can be used, in some embodiments, to allow magnetic stripe cards or biometric measurements to become authorized to operate or allow access to the system or device or service.

Claims

1. A first system for controlling operation of a second system, the first system comprising:

a controller;

a reader, the controller able to read a first machine readable identification through said reader

a keypad, the controller able to accept a learn command through said keypad; and

a memory accessible by the controller, the controller able to add a first data representative of the first identification to the memory in response to the learn command being accepted through the keypad and the first identification being read by the reader;

wherein,

operation of the second system is allowed by the controller in response to the first identification being read by the reader when the first data is in the memory.

2. The first system of claim 1, wherein

the first identification comprises an indicia, and

at least a portion of the learn command is related to the indicia.

3. The first system of claim 1, wherein

at least a portion of the learn command indicates a duration, and

the controller deletes the first data after the duration is elapsed.

4. The first system of claim 1, wherein

the learn command comprises a checksum which can be validated by the controller.

5. The first system of claim 1, further comprising:

a first clock providing the substantially current time to the controller;

wherein,

the learn command comprises data representative of a start time which can be validated by the controller.

6. The first system of claim 5, wherein:

the learn command comprises data representative of a duration, wherein the controller validates the learn command if the current time is not substantially after the start time and the duration.

7. The first system of claim 5, wherein:

the learn command comprises data representative of a duration, wherein the controller validates the learn command if the current time is not substantially after the start time and the duration.

8. The first system of claim 1, wherein:

the learn command is encrypted and the controller decrypts the learn command.

10. The first system of claim 8, wherein:

the controller has a first key used when decrypting the learn command.

11. The first system of claim 1, wherein:

the learn command is specific to a plurality of identifications comprising the first identification.

12. A third system to generate the learn command for the first system of claim 5, comprising:

a) a processor having access to a communication channel, the processor having programming to perform the steps;

1) accept a request through the communication channel, the request comprising data representative of a time;

2) generating the learn command using the data representative of a time as the start time; and

3) returning the learn command through the communication channel;

wherein the steps

     2) and

     3) are performed in response to the request.

13. A third system to generate the learn command for the first system of claim 5, comprising:

a) a second clock, the second clock substantially synchronized with the first clock;

b) a processor having access to a communication channel, the processor able to read the second clock, the processor further having programming to perform the steps;

1) accept a request through the communication channel,

2) reading a first time from the second clock;

3) generating the learn command using the first time as the start time; and

4) returning the learn command through the communication channel;

wherein the steps

     2),

     3), and

     4) are performed in response to the request.

14. A third system to generate the learn command for the first system of claim 2 comprising:

a) a processor having access to a communication channel, the processor having programming to perform the steps;

1) accept a request through the communication channel, the request comprising data representative of the indicia;

2) generating the learn command using the data representative of a the indicia; and

3) returning the learn command through the communication channel;

wherein the steps

     2) and

     3) are performed in response to the request.

15. A third system to generate the learn command for the first system of claim 9 comprising:

a) a processor having access to a communication channel, the processor having access to a second key for encryption corresponding to the first key, the processor having programming to perform the steps;

1) accept a request through the communication channel, the request comprising identifying information corresponding to the first key;

2) determining the second key corresponding to the identifying information;

3) generating the learn command using the second key; and

4) returning the learn command through the communication channel;

wherein the steps

     2),

     3), and

     4) are performed in response to the request.