Method and system for providing access to secure entity or service by a subset of N persons of M designated persons

• US 7,111,174 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2001
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activcard Ireland, Limited
• Original Assignee: Activcard Ireland, Limited
• Inventors: Hamid, Larry
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Davis, Zachary A.
• Application Number:
  US09/940,795
• Publication Number:
  US 20030046552A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,847 Days
• Field of Search: 713/186, 713/182, 380/277, 380/286, 382/115, 382/124, 340/5.52, 340/5.82, 726/28, 726/17, 726/19, 726/20, 726/4, 726/5, 726/7, 726/9
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition

Abstract

A security system for securing an entity or a service from indiscriminate access and a method for operating the same is disclosed. Each designated person of M designated persons is provided with a portable biometric device. Biometric data in dependence upon a biometric characteristic of each of the M designated persons is stored in memory of the respective portable biometric device. Biometric information representative of a biometric characteristic of each of a subset of 1<N<M persons is captured in response to each of the N persons presenting said information to the respective portable biometric device. The biometric information is encoded and biometric data in dependence thereupon is provided to the processor of each respective portable biometric device. Using the processor of each respective portable biometric device the captured biometric data is then compared with the stored biometric data to produce a comparison result. If the comparison result is indicative of a match an authorization signal is transmitted from each of the respective portable biometric devices to a receiving port of the security system. Upon receipt of the authorization signal a processor of the locking mechanism determines access privileges to the secure entity or service in dependence upon the authorization signals it received from the respective portable biometric devices of the subset of N persons. If an authorization signal of the subset of N persons is missing, the security system denies access to the secure entity or service.

Claims

1. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges, comprising:

storing biometric data in dependence upon a biometric characteristic of each of the M designated persons;

capturing biometric information representative of a biometric characteristic of each of N persons and providing biometric data in dependence thereupon, with 1<

N<

M being a subset of a plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons, wherein at least two of the predetermined subsets of the plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons have different access privileges, once authenticated, to the secure entity or service;

comparing the captured biometric data of each of the N persons of the subset with the stored biometric data to produce N comparison results; and

,

if the N comparison results are indicative of the N persons of the subset each being one of the M designated persons and thereby forming the subset of the N persons, determining the access privileges to the secure entity or service in dependence upon the subset of the N persons.

2. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 1, wherein another subset of the at least two predetermined subsets of the M designated persons is any set of X designated persons, N being a predetermined number and X being greater than or equal to N.

3. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 2, wherein each subset of the plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons comprises a different combination of persons of the M designated persons.

4. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 3, wherein different subsets of the plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons comprise a different number of persons combined in each subset.

5. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges, comprising:

providing each designated person of the M designated persons with a portable biometric device operable to capture biometric information presented thereto;

assigning a biometric characteristic of each of the M designated persons to a respective portable biometric device and storing biometric data in the respective portable biometric device in dependence upon the biometric characteristic;

capturing biometric information representative of a biometric characteristic of each of N persons in response to each of the N persons presenting said information to the respective portable biometric device and providing biometric data in dependence thereupon, with 1<

N<

M being a subset of a plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons, wherein at least two of the subsets of the plurality of predetermined subsets have different access privileges, once authenticated, to the secure entity or service;

comparing the captured biometric data with biometric data stored in each of the respective portable biometric devices to produce a comparison result and, in dependence thereon, performing one of transmitting an authorization signal from said portable biometric device to a receiving port of the secure entity or service and other than transmitting an authorization signal from said portable biometric device; and

,

determining the access privileges to the secure entity or service in dependence upon the authorization signals received from the respective portable biometric devices of the subset of N persons.

6. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by a designated person having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 5, comprising:

denying access to the secure entity or service in absence of at least N of M authorization signals.

7. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by a designated person having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 5, wherein the subset of N persons comprises at least two persons of the M designated persons.

8. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges, comprising:

storing biometric data in dependence upon a biometric characteristic of each of the M designated persons in at least a portable biometric device;

capturing biometric information representative of a biometric characteristic of each of N persons in response to each of the N persons presenting said information to one of the at least a portable biometric device and providing biometric data in dependence thereupon, with 1<

N<

M being a subset of a plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons, wherein at least two of the subsets of the plurality of predetermined subsets have different access privileges, once authenticated, to the secure entity or service;

comparing the captured biometric data of each of the N persons of the subset with the stored biometric data to produce N comparison results;

if each of X comparison results is indicative of one of the N persons being one of the M designated persons, transmitting an authorization signal from the at least a portable biometric device to a receiving port of the secure entity or service, where 1<

X<

N; and

,

determining the access privileges to the secure entity or service in dependence upon the authorization signals of the subset of X persons received from the at least a portable biometric device.

9. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 8, wherein the determined access privileges define a time limitation.

10. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 8, wherein the determined access privileges define functional limitations of the secure entity or service in dependence upon the subset of X persons.

11. A method for providing access to a secure entity or service by M designated persons having only limited access privileges as defined in claim 8, wherein X=N.

12. A security system for securing an entity or a service from indiscriminate access and for providing access to a subset of N persons of M designated persons, comprising:

at least a portable biometric device, the device comprising;

a biometric sensor for capturing biometric information representative of a biometric characteristic in response to a person presenting said information to the biometric sensor;

an encoder for digitally encoding the captured biometric information and providing biometric data in dependence thereupon;

memory for storing biometric data of at least one of the M designated persons;

a processor for comparing the captured biometric data with stored biometric data of a designated person to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of a match, for providing an authorization signal; and

,

a transmitter for transmitting the authorization signal;

at least a port for receiving authorization signals of the subset of 1<

N<

M persons from the at least a portable biometric device; and

,

a processor for determining access privileges to the secured entity or service in dependence upon the authorization signals of the subset of 1<

N<

M persons with the subset of 1<

N<

M persons being a subset of a plurality of predetermined subsets of the M designated persons, wherein at least two of the subsets of the plurality of predetermined subsets have different access privileges, once authenticated, to the secure entity or service.

13. A security system for securing an entity or a service from indiscriminate access as defined in claim 12, wherein the biometric sensor comprises a fingerprint imager.

14. A security system for securing an entity or a service from indiscriminate access as defined in claim 12, wherein the transmitter comprises transmission elements for wireless communication.

15. A security system for securing an entity or a service from indiscriminate access as defined in claim 12, wherein the portable biometric device comprises a handheld portable biometric device.

16. A security system for securing an entity or a service from indiscriminate access as defined in claim 15, wherein the handheld portable biometric device comprises a smart card.