Method to authenticate an accessory

• US 7,900,045 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2006
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Rager, Kent D., Hansen, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): JUNG, DAVID YIUK
• Application Number:
  US11/617,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20080159534A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 713/168, 713/150, 713/170
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/81 by operating on the power supply, e.g. enabling or disabling power-on, sleep or resume operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2103 Challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

An apparatus (100) used by a plurality of devices to authenticate an accessory (120) is configured to operate with a device (110) of the plurality of devices. The accessory (120) applies an authentication algorithm to a key and a challenge (130) received from the device (110) and generates a response (132) thereto. A challenge and response memory (114) stores a subset of a set of challenges (232) and pre-computed responses (230). The enabling circuit transmits a challenge (130) to the accessory (120) and receives a received response (132) therefrom. The enabling circuit (112) also compares the received response (132) to the stored response (230) corresponding to the stored challenge (232) sent to the accessory (120). The enabling circuit (112) is configured to generate a normal operation enabling signal that enables normal operation of the device when the received response (132) matches the stored response and is configured not to generate the normal operation enabling signal when the received response (132) does not match the stored response.

Claims

1. A battery recharging apparatus used by a plurality of devices to authenticate an accessory comprising a battery and configured to operate with a device of the plurality of devices, the accessory storing a first key and employing an authentication circuit that applies an authentication algorithm to the first key and a challenge received from the device thereby generating a response corresponding to the challenge, the apparatus comprising:

a. a challenge and response memory in each device of the plurality of devices that stores a subset of a set of stored challenges and stored responses, each stored response corresponding to a different one of the stored challenges and pre-computed by applying the corresponding stored challenge and a second key to the authentication algorithm, the subset stored in the challenge and response memory of a first device of the plurality of devices being different from the subset stored in the challenge and response memory of a second device of the plurality of devices; and

b. an enabling circuit in each device of the plurality of devices that transmits a stored challenge to the accessory and that receives a received response therefrom and that compares the received response to the stored response corresponding to the stored challenge sent to the accessory, wherein the enabling circuit is configured to charge the battery when the received response matches the stored response and is configured to not charge the battery when the received response does not match the stored response.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the challenge and response memory of each device stores a subset of a set of stored challenges and stored responses that are chosen to be included in the subset so as to make predicting which challenges and responses will be stored in the challenge and response memory of any given device of the plurality of devices difficult.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, where challenge/response pairs are assigned to the challenge and response memory of each device according to a pseudo-random algorithm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the authentication algorithm comprises a cryptographic hashing algorithm.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the authentication algorithm comprises an encryption algorithm.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the encryption algorithm comprises a symmetric encryption algorithm.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the encryption algorithm comprises an asymmetric encryption algorithm.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a cellular telephone.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first key is identical to the second key.

10. A wireless telephone, comprising:

a. a wireless telephone communication circuit;

b. a battery that powers the wireless telephone communication circuit, the battery storing a key and employing an authentication circuit that applies an authentication algorithm to the key and to a challenge received from the telephone thereby generating a response corresponding to the challenge;

c. a memory that stores a set of challenges and a set of pre-computed responses, each response corresponding to a different challenge of the set of challenges; and

d. a processor that transmits a selected challenge of the set of challenges to the battery and that receives a response from the battery, wherein the processor also compares the response received from the battery to a response stored in the memory corresponding to the challenge sent to the battery and wherein the processor causes a selected one of the battery and the wireless telephone communication circuit to inhibit charging of the battery when the response received from the battery does not correspond to the response corresponding to the challenge stored in the memory.

11. The wireless telephone of claim 10, wherein the authentication algorithm comprises a cryptographic hashing algorithm.

12. The wireless telephone of claim 10, wherein the authentication algorithm comprises an encryption algorithm.

13. The wireless telephone of claim 10, wherein the other than normal operating state comprises recharging the battery to a level that is less than a maximum recharge level for the battery.

14. The wireless telephone of claim 10, wherein the other than normal operating state comprises inhibiting communications through the telephone communication circuit.

15. A method of authenticating accessories configured to work with a device, the device comprising a charging circuit, the method comprising the actions of:

a. applying an authentication algorithm to a set of challenges and a key, thereby generating a corresponding set of responses;

b. storing the set of challenges and the corresponding set of responses, without storing the key, in a memory associated with the device;

c. transmitting a challenge from the set of challenges to a battery having circuitry that applies the challenge and the key to the authentication algorithm and that generates a response based on the challenge and the key;

d. receiving the response from the battery;

e. comparing the response received from the battery to the response stored in the memory that corresponds to the challenge sent to the battery; and

f. if the response received from the battery matches the response corresponding to the challenge sent to the battery, then allowing the charging circuit to charge the battery, otherwise preventing the charging circuit from charging the battery.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the authentication algorithm comprises a cryptographic hashing algorithm.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the authentication algorithm comprises an encryption algorithm.