Secure data card with passive RFID chip and biometric sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A passive secure data card, comprising:
- a card;
an antenna tuned to receive an external RF reader signal;
a passive power module coupled to the antenna, said passive power module converting power drawn exclusively from the external RF reader signal to supply one or more voltages to a biometric sensor and at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) chip;
said biometric sensor configured to sense a biometric input from a card user and generate a biometric input signal, said biometric input and biometric input signal providing distinctive and measurable characteristics to identify individual card users; and
said at least one RFID chip comprising an RF transmitter and one or more processors and memory units configured to implement a communication module that stores information and a biometric module that stores biometric parameters representative of user-initialized biometric inputs, and in response to biometric input from the biometric sensor compares the biometric input signal to the stored biometric parameters and, upon determination of a match authenticates and authorizes that card user and activates the communication module, which in turn reads and sends the information to the RF transmitter to transmit an RF data signal via the antenna, wherein said communication module, although power is available from the external RF reader signal, will not active and transmit the information until activated by the biometric module.
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Abstract
Biometric authorization is provided for a passive secure data card. An additional layer of security may be provided in the form of a biometric password. Session timing may be enforced to limit opportunities of third parties to snoop transmitted information while providing ample time to complete the card transaction. Biometric retries may be enforced to limit opportunities of third parties to hack the biometric security.
33 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A passive secure data card, comprising:
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a card; an antenna tuned to receive an external RF reader signal; a passive power module coupled to the antenna, said passive power module converting power drawn exclusively from the external RF reader signal to supply one or more voltages to a biometric sensor and at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) chip; said biometric sensor configured to sense a biometric input from a card user and generate a biometric input signal, said biometric input and biometric input signal providing distinctive and measurable characteristics to identify individual card users; and said at least one RFID chip comprising an RF transmitter and one or more processors and memory units configured to implement a communication module that stores information and a biometric module that stores biometric parameters representative of user-initialized biometric inputs, and in response to biometric input from the biometric sensor compares the biometric input signal to the stored biometric parameters and, upon determination of a match authenticates and authorizes that card user and activates the communication module, which in turn reads and sends the information to the RF transmitter to transmit an RF data signal via the antenna, wherein said communication module, although power is available from the external RF reader signal, will not active and transmit the information until activated by the biometric module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A passive secure data card, comprising:
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a card; an antenna tuned to receive an external RF reader signal; a passive power module coupled to the antenna, said passive power module converting power drawn exclusively from the external RF reader signal to supply one or more voltages to one or more biometric sensors and a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip as long as the external RF reader signal is received; each said biometric sensor configured to sense a biometric input from a card user and generate a biometric input signal, said biometric input and biometric input signal providing distinctive and measurable characteristics to identify individual card users; and said RFID chip comprising; an RF transmitter, and one or more processors and memory units configured to implement a communication module that stores information and when activated reads and sends the information in to the RF transmitter to transmit an RF data signal via the antenna, a biometric module that stores a user-initialized biometric password of at least two temporally displaced entries of one or more user-initialized biometric parameters representative of user-initialized biometric inputs, and in response to a sequence of biometric inputs from the one or more biometric sensors compares a sequence of biometric input signals to the stored biometric password and, upon determination of a match authenticates and authorizes that card user and activates the communication module for a specified session time period, said communication module in turn reads and sends the information to the RF transmitter to trans transmit an RF data signal via the antenna, wherein said communication module, although power is available from the external RF reader signal, will not active and transmit the information until activated by the biometric module, wherein said biometric module stores a connection attempt threshold and counts a card user'"'"'s number of attempts to provide the sequence of biometric inputs to match the biometric password, and upon exceeding the connection attempt threshold said biometric module overwrites the information with a permanent error and transmits the permanent error in the RF data signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A secure data card, comprising:
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a card; an antenna tuned to receive an external RF reader signal; at least one biometric sensor configured to sense a biometric input from a card user and generate a biometric input signal, said biometric input and biometric input signal providing distinctive and measurable characteristics to identify individual card users; and at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) chip comprising an RF transmitter, and one or more processors and memory units configured to implement a communication module that stores information and when activated reads the information and sends the information in to the RF transmitter to transmit an RF data signal via the antenna, and a biometric module that stores a user-initialized biometric password of at least two temporally displaced entries of one or more user-initialized biometric inputs, and in response to a sequence of biometric inputs from the one or more biometric sensors compares a sequence of biometric input signals to the stored biometric password and, upon determination of a match of each biometric input and the temporal sequence of those biometric inputs activates the communication module, which in turn reads and sends the information to the RF transmitter to transmit an RF data signal via the antenna, wherein said communication module, although power is available, will not active and transmit the information until activated by the biometric module. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification