Biopresence based keyguard mechanism

• US 8,362,874 B1
• Filed: 11/11/2011
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Lai, Harry Hong-Lun, Blinn, Benjamin P., Lundy, Mike T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan, Omer S
• Application Number:
  US13/294,870
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.52
• US Class Current: 340/5.52
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00674 with switch-buttons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/66 with means for preventing unauthorised or fraudulent calling verifying user identity or authority in secret or secure digital communications H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10

Abstract

A keyguard mechanism protects against situations where unintentional touch on a device keypad, by a person or by an inanimate object, unlocks the keypad. A bio-presence based keyguard mechanism for a portable device detects a situation where both a bio-presence sensor and a pressure or displacement sensor are engaged, and then selectively removes an associated keypad from a locked state and places the keypad in an unlocked state. A signal is received from a pressure or displacement sensor associated with a particular key of the keypad, when the keypad is in a locked state. It is then determined whether a signal is received from a bio-presence sensor associated with the particular key, or with a particular portion of the keypad, within an allotted time period, and if so, the status of the keypad is changed to an unlocked state.

Claims

1. A bio-presence based keyguard mechanism, comprising:

a set of key sensors associated with keys of a device keypad, wherein each of the key sensors is one or more of a pressure sensor or displacement sensor for detecting engagement of the device keypad through pressure or displacement sensing;

one or more bio-presence sensors associated with one or more of the keys of the device keypad and configured to register a condition associated with human touch on the device keypad; and

a processor for processing signals generated by the key sensors and the one or more bio-presence sensors to determine that changing from a locked state to an unlocked state for the device keypad is warranted, wherein the unlocked state is warranted when

(1) a key sensor detects an engagement of the device keypad,

(2) a bio-presence sensor detects the same engagement of the device keypad, and

(3) a time period measured from when the engagement of the device keypad is detected by the key sensor, to when the same engagement of the device keypad is detected by the bio-presence sensor, is less than an allotted time period.

2. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the one or more bio-presence sensors are heat sensors.

3. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the one or more second bio-presence sensors are electrical conductivity sensors.

4. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the engagement of the device keypad includes engagement of a pre-established set of two or more keys that are simultaneously depressed.

5. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the engagement of the device keypad is an engagement of less than a preestablished number of individual keys of the device keypad.

6. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the engagement of the device keypad is an engagement of less than a preestablished number of individual keys of the device keypad within a preestablished period of time.

7. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the engagement of the device keypad is an engagement of a single individual key of the device keypad.

8. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein a biosensor is associated with one or more of the keys of the device keypad by association with a region of the device keypad.