Electronic device having biometric authentication function and data management method

• US 8,396,259 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2010
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: mofiria Corp.
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Muquit, Mohammad Abdul, Amagai, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Claire X
• Assistant Examiner(s): PERLMAN, DAVID S
• Application Number:
  US12/714,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20100232653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/16 File or folder operations, e.g. details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1324 by using geometrical optics, e.g. using prisms G06V40/1312 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/14 Vascular patterns

Abstract

An electronic device having a biometric authentication function is provided which includes a biometric authentication sensor for detecting a feature quantity of a living body, a user identification unit for identifying a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a specific operation is performed by the user, and a data storage unit for storing data acquired according to the specific operation in a specific folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit.

Claims

1. An electronic device having a biometric authentication function, comprising:

a biometric authentication sensor for detecting a feature quantity of a living body;

a user identification unit for identifying a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a specific operation is performed by the user;

a body part identification unit for identifying a body part based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor, wherein, in case the number of detection times counted by the detection times counter is N (N≧

2), the folder selection unit selects the specific folder according to the body part identified by the body part identification unit based on a feature quantity detected k-th (k=2, . . . , N) by the biometric authentication sensor; and

a data storage unit for storing data acquired according to the specific operation in a specific folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit.

2. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detection times counter for counting a number of times a feature quantity of a same user is successively detected by the biometric authentication sensor at the time the specific operation is performed, based on a result of identification by the user identification unit; and

a folder selection unit for selecting a specific folder in which the data is to be stored, according to the number of detection times counted by the detection times counter, wherein the data storage unit stores the data in the specific folder selected by the folder selection unit.

3. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, wherein,

in case the number of detection times counted by the detection times counter is N (N≧

3), the folder selection unit selects the specific folder according to a combination and an order of N body parts sequentially identified by the body part identification unit.

4. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, further comprising:

a group selection unit for selecting, based on group information defining a correspondence relationship between each user and a specific group, the specific group corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit,

wherein

the data storage unit stores data acquired according to the specific operation in a specific folder corresponding to the specific group selected by the group selection unit.

5. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, further comprising:

a restriction setting unit for setting a display restriction or an operation restriction on a specific folder and data in the specific folder, the specific folder corresponding to a user other than the user identified by the user identification unit.

6. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, wherein

the data storage unit stores data acquired according to the specific operation in a common folder common to all users, and associates information on the data stored in the common folder with a specific virtual folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit.

7. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, wherein

the feature quantity of a living body is a feature quantity enabling to uniquely identify a user based on one or a combination of a vein pattern, a fingerprint and an iris pattern.

8. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, further comprising:

an imaging unit for capturing an image of a subject; and

an operation button for making the imaging unit perform an image capturing process,

wherein

the user identification unit identifies a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time the operation button is operated by the user, and

the data storage unit stores data of the image that is captured by the imaging unit according to the operation of the operation button in a specific folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit.

9. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, further comprising:

a data acquisition unit for acquiring content data; and

an operation button for making the data acquisition unit perform a data acquisition process,

wherein

the user identification unit identifies a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time the operation button is operated by the user, and

the data storage unit stores the content data acquired by the data acquisition unit according to the operation of the operation button in a specific folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit.

11. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit capable of displaying the data and information relating to the specific folder; and

a display control unit for making the display unit display one or both of the specific folder and the data stored in the specific folder, the specific folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a display operation of the data is performed.

10. An electronic device having a biometric authentication function, comprising:

a biometric authentication sensor for detecting a feature quantity of a living body;

a user identification unit for identifying a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a specific operation is performed by the user;

a body part identification unit for identifying a body part based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor, wherein, in case the number of detection times counted by the detection times counter is N (N≧

2), the folder selection unit selects the specific folder according to the body part identified by the body part identification unit based on a feature quantity detected k-th (k=2, . . . , N) by the biometric authentication sensor;

an attribute assigning unit for assigning attribute information for the user identified by the user identification unit to data acquired according to the specific operation; and

a data storage unit for storing in a specific folder the data to which the attribute information for the user is assigned by the attribute assigning unit.

12. The electronic device having a biometric authentication function according to claim 10, further comprising:

a display unit capable of displaying the data and information relating to the specific folder; and

a display control unit for making the display unit display one or both of the specific folder and the data stored in the specific folder, the specific folder corresponding to the user identified by the user identification unit based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a display operation of the data is performed.

13. A data management method comprising the steps of:

identifying, by using a biometric authentication sensor for detecting a feature quantity of a living body, a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a specific operation is performed by the user;

identifying a body part based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor, wherein, in case the number of detection times counted by the detection times counter is N (N≧

2), the folder selection unit selects the specific folder according to the body part identified by the body part identification unit based on a feature quantity detected k-th (k=2, . . . , N) by the biometric authentication sensor; and

storing data acquired according to the specific operation in a specific folder corresponding to the user identified in the step of identifying.

14. A data management method comprising the steps of:

identifying, by using a biometric authentication sensor for detecting a feature quantity of a living body, a user based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor at a time a specific operation is performed by the user;

identifying a body part based on the feature quantity detected by the biometric authentication sensor, wherein, in case the number of detection times counted by the detection times counter is N (N≧

2), the folder selection unit selects the specific folder according to the body part identified by the body part identification unit based on a feature quantity detected k-th (k=2, . . . , N) by the biometric authentication sensor;

assigning attribute information for the user identified in the step of identifying to data acquired according to the specific operation; and

storing in a specific folder the data to which the attribute information for the user is assigned in the step of assigning.