Title of Invention

A METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING PERIPHERALS OF A HAND-HELD DEVICE IN A RESTRICTED AREA

Abstract

The present invention in general relates to the Mobile Phone Application, RFID, GPS. Particularly the present invention relates to automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted environment. This invention explains a method and system for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area comprising the steps of: placing a scanner at the entry point of a restricted area; communicating with the mobile by the said scanner to get the list of peripheral devices in the mobile using RFID; authenticating the scanner where the said mobile communicates with a central security server over the cellular network; autonomously disabling the restricted devices by the mobile handset upon successful authentication; and enabling automatically the disabled devices when the said mobile device is out of restricted area.

Full Text

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention, in general, relates to the Mobile Phone Application, RFID and GPS. Further, the present invention relates to automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted environment. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Increasing usage of certain devices e.g. camera with mobile phone is becoming a serious security/privacy risk. For security and other needs many organizations are restricting usage of few peripheral devices like camera in the campus. Law enforcement agencies are planning to ban camera phones. Current mechanisms to check usage of devices such as camera in restricted areas are: 1. Self Declaration 2. Physical frisking 3. Alert like Beep when the mobile phone is passed through a scanner. However there are following limitations to the existing art: 1. It is not possible to frisk all devices by manual method. 2. These mechanisms are very crude in nature. 3. Humans are prone to error, hence security is not completely eliminated 4. There is no automated mechanism to disable such devices on entry in campus. 5. Restrictions by Law on entry of mobile phones with camera may have adverse impact on sale of such phones. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for detecting and disabling peripheral devices in a mobile phone that has RFID and GPS capability. A Restricted area is defined as an area where usage of selected devices is prohibited. In the present invention a scanner is placed at the entrance of a restricted area communicates with the mobile to get the list of peripheral devices in the mobile using RFID. The Scanner, based on the security policy of the restricted area, then commands the mobile using RFID, to allow or prohibit usage of the selected peripheral devices in the mobile phone. The mobile can authenticate the Scanner by communicating with a central security database over the cellular network. Upon successful authentication mobile handset can autonomously disable the restricted devices. At exit all disabled devices will get enabled automatically by using same mechanism or an alternate approach where Mobile uses GPS information to find that it is out of restricted area. Accordingly this invention explains a method for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area comprising the steps of: (a) placing a scanner at the entry point of a restricted area; (b) communicating with the mobile by the said scanner to get the list of peripheral devices in the mobile using RFID; (c) authenticating the scanner where the said mobile communicates with a central security server over the cellular network; (d) autonomously disabling the restricted devices by the mobile handset upon successful authentication; and (e) enabling automatically the disabled devices when the said mobile device is out of restricted area. The said commanding of the mobile using RFID is based on the security policy of the restricted area. The scanner interrogates the mobile phone passing through the entry point with the scanner ID, peripheral device type and command to device. The mobile phone passes Scanner ID and said mobile phones current GPS location to the network for authenticating the scanner. If the mobile is not connected to the network the RFID device returns it's ID, type of peripheral and state of the peripheral to the Scanner. For authentication the network contacts the authentication information in the authentication server to verify the Scanner's authorization to control peripherals in the said area. Authentication server returns the authentication result, to the network which intern passes the information including the result of scanner authentication, GPS location of centre of restricted area and radius of restricted area to the mobile. If the Result of the Scanner Authentication is positive, the mobile disables the peripheral as commanded by the Scanner, else it ignores the command. The RFID device in the mobile returns its ID, type of peripheral and state of the peripheral to scanner where with the said information's the state of the peripheral is enabled or disabled. Once the Scanner gets the response from mobile, and if the scanner approves the state of the peripheral, then the said scanner allows the mobile to pass through and if the scanner does not approve the state of the peripheral, it raises an alarm. The said mobile phone is integrated with RFID and GPS. The said scanner uses RFID. The said information generated by an RFID device list peripherals in mobile phone, communicate scanner identity code and generate and run commands to allow or prohibit a peripheral device in the mobile phone. The said central security server queries a centralized database having details of all such restricting scanners with GPS location and its identifier and authenticates the scanner, based on the scanner ID provided and the GPS location. The security server and the database is maintained as an independent entity and has an interface for querying. The mobile phones that are switched off when they enter the restricted area, is treated as legacy devices and produces an alert when they pass through the scanner. For enabling the devices at the exit point, the scanner commands the device to enable peripherals. An alternate mechanism for enabling the devices at the exit point, is that the device queries its GPS location time to time and if the said location is out of range specified by network at the time of authentication, it does the peripheral enabling. All mobile service providers understand the new query from the mobile device for authenticating the scanner. The time taken for scanner to get device data using RFID from the mobile, scanner to command mobile to disable select devices and mobile to authenticate through the wireless network is less than the time taken by the mobile device to pass through the scanner gate. All mobile Service providers implement the interface to the scanner database. Accordingly this invention also explains a system for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area comprising: (a) a scanner placed at the entry point of a restricted area; (b) a mobile device, where the said scanner communicates with the said mobile unit to get the list of peripheral devices in the mobile using RFID; (c) a central security server over the cellular network which authenticates the scanner; (d) means which autonomously disables the restricted devices by the mobile handset upon successful authentication; and (e) means which enables automatically the disabled devices when the said mobile device is out of restricted area. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the ensuing detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1 is the block diagram of the entities participating in the mechanism. Figure 2 is the block diagram of the communication between entities. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood however that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The following description and drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention and numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention. However in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention in detail. Figure 1 illustrates the block diagram of the entities participating in the mechanism. The following are the elements of the present invention: 1. A mobile phone integrated with RFID and GPS. 2. A Scanner that can communicate with the mobile phone using RFID. 3. RFID Message mechanism to exchange the following data a. List Peripherals in Mobile phone b. Scanner Identity Code c. Commands to Allow or Prohibit a peripheral device in the mobile phone 4. A Central database, which that can be reached using an application in the mobile phone, to authenticate and authorize the scanner. The communication mechanism and the how the elements participate is explained in Figure 2. 1. Scanner Interrogates the Mobile phone passing through the entry point with the Data (S + T + C) 2. Mobile phone passes Scanner ID (S) and its current GPS location (G1) to the Network for Authenticating the scanner. if the Mobile is not connected to the network it can directly go to Step 7. 3. Network contacts the Authentication Database to verify the Scanner's authorization to control peripherals in that location. 4. Authentication server returns Authentication result (A), and if Authentication is Positive, The GPS location of the centre (G2) and the radius(R) of restricted area controlled by the scanner. 5. Network passes the Information to the mobile (A + G2 + R) 6. If the scanner is authenticated, Mobile accepts the command and enables or disables the peripheral. 7. The RFID device returns its ID (P), type of peripheral (T) and state of the peripheral (D) to Scanner. State of the peripheral can be enabled or disabled. Once the Scanner gets the response from Mobile, the following two cases can happen a). If the scanner approves the state of the peripheral, then it allows the mobile to pass through b). If the scanner does not approve the state of the peripheral, it raises an Alarm. The present invention introduces a mobile phone as described above that can communicate using RFID, with a scanner at the entry of a restricted area. The scanner interrogates the mobile and the mobile sends RFID data that lists the peripheral devices in the mobile. The Scanner based on the security policy of the restricted area, sends RFID data to the mobile allowing or prohibiting selected peripheral devices. The mobile device contacts a central security server through an application over its serving cellular network and provides the identification number of scanner and own GPS location. The server queries a centralized database (having details of all such restricting scanners with GPS location and its identifier), ^authenticates the scanner, based on the scanner ID provided and the GPS location, and informs the device. After successful authentication, the mobile phone disables the peripheral devices as commanded by the scanner. The security server / database is maintained as an independent entity and has defined interface (can be xml) for querying. Mobile phones that have the elements required for this mechanism but are switched off when they enter the restricted area, cannot execute the procedures as described above. Such mobile phones will be treated as legacy devices and will alert the security personnel when they pass through the scanner (scanner can detect electronic devices). At exit, for enabling the devices there are 2 possible approaches: • The scanner can command the device to enable peripherals. • The device queries its GPS location time to time and if it is out of range specified by network at the time of authentication, it triggers the peripheral enabling However, the following are the Assumptions while implementing the present invention: • All service providers understand the new query from the mobile device (for authenticating the scanner). • The time taken for the following two steps is less than the time taken by the mobile device to pass through the scanner gate. o Scanner to get Device data using RFID from the mobile. o Scanner to command Mobile to disable select devices, o Mobile to authenticate through the wireless network. • All Service providers implement the interface to the scanner DB. • If mobile is switched off then also RFID tag can work because if it is passive tag it doesn't require power and Active Tag is always powered • The RFID tags assigned to the devices should be standardized so that the scanner understands what devices are integrated with the mobile. Standards should also be defined for communication between the scanner and the mobile using RFID messages to query/enable/disable the devices. • The Security agencies should take into consideration the legacy mobile phones that do not have the elements required for this mechanism, still need to be detected by techniques described in Prior Art. Effects/Advantages of the Invention 1. Automated and Effective implementation of the Security policy in a Restricted Area. 2. Convenience to Users having such peripherals as they get disabled and enabled automatically based on the security policy. 3. Many Phones these days are already integrated with GPS systems and RFID chips can be integrated at a very small cost. Hence the cost increment to implement this mechanism in a mobile phone is small. 4. The existing message exchange mechanism defined by RFID standards can be re-used for exchanging data required for this mechanism. It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other control methods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of the various methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught by the description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also be considered within the scope of the present invention. Further, description of such combinations and variations is therefore omitted above. It should also be noted that the host for storing the applications include but not limited to a microchip, microprocessor, handheld communication device, computer, rendering device or a multi function device. Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are possible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom. GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS THEREOF RFID: Radio Frequency Identification GPS: Global Positioning System WE CLAIM 1. A method for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area comprising the steps of: (a) placing a scanner at the entry point of a restricted area; (b) communicating with the mobile by the said scanner to get the list of peripheral devices in the mobile using RFID; (c) authenticating the scanner where the said mobile communicates with a central security server over the cellular network; (d) autonomously disabling the restricted devices by the mobile handset upon successful authentication; and (e) enabling automatically the disabled devices when the said mobile device is out of restricted area. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said commanding of the mobile using RFID is based on the security policy of the restricted area. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scanner interrogates the mobile phone passing through the entry point with the scanner ID, peripheral device type and command to device. 4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein mobile phone passes Scanner ID and said mobile phones current GPS location to the network for authenticating the scanner. 5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein if the mobile is not connected to the network, the RFID device returns its ID, type of peripheral and state of the peripheral to the Scanner. 6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein for authentication the network contacts the authentication information in the authentication server to verify the Scanner's authorization to control peripherals in the said area. 7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein authentication server returns the authentication result, to the network which intern passes the information including the result of scanner authentication, GPS location of centre of restricted area and radius of restricted area to the mobile. 8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the GPS location of the centre of restricted area and the radius of restricted area are controlled by the scanner. 9. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the RFID device returns its ID, type of peripheral and state of the peripheral to scanner where with the said information the state of the peripheral is enabled or disabled. 10. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein once the scanner gets the response from mobile, and if the scanner approves the state of the peripheral, then the said scanner allows the mobile to pass through and if the scanner does not approve the state of the peripheral, it raises an alarm. 11. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said mobile phone is integrated with RFID and GPS. 12. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said scanner uses RFID. 13. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said information generated by an RFID device list peripherals in mobile phone, communicate scanner identity code and generate and run commands to allow or prohibit a peripheral device in the mobile phone. 14. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said central security server queries a centralized database having details of all such restricting scanners with GPS location and its identifier and authenticates the scanner, based on the scanner ID provided and the GPS location. 15. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the security server and the database is maintained as an independent entity and has an interface for querying. 16. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile phones that are switched off when they enter the restricted area, is treated as legacy devices and produces an alert when they pass through the scanner. 17. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein for enabling the devices at the exit point, the scanner commands the device to enable peripherals. 18. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein for enabling the devices at the exit point, the device queries its GPS location time to time and if the said location is out of range specified by network at the time of authentication, it does the peripheral enabling. 19. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein all mobile service providers understand the new query from the mobile device for authenticating the scanner. 20. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the time taken for scanner to get device data using RFID from the mobile, scanner to command mobile to disable select devices and mobile to authenticate through the wireless network is less than the time taken by the mobile device to pass through the scanner gate. 21. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein all mobile Service providers implement the interface to the scanner database. 22. A system for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area comprising; (a) a scanner placed at the entry point of a restricted area; (b) a mobile device where the said scanner communicates with the said mobile unit to get the list of peripheral devices in the mobile using RFID; (c) a central security server over the cellular network which authenticates the scanner; (d) means which autonomously disables the restricted devices by the mobile handset upon successful authentication; and (e) means which enables automatically the disabled devices when the said mobile device is out of restricted area. 23. A method for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area substantially described particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings. 24. A system for automated controlling of peripherals of hand-held device in a restricted area substantially described particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

1182-CHE-2005 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 POWER OF ATTORNEY 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 27-11-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 AMENDED CLAIMS 27-11-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 AMENDED CLAIMS 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 FORM-1 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 FORM-5 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 OTHER PATENT DOCUMENT 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 POWER OF ATTORNEY 27-11-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 27-11-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 FORM-13 26-10-2012.pdf

1182-CHE-2005 FORM-13 19-06-2006.pdf

1182-che-2005-abstract.pdf

1182-che-2005-claims.pdf

1182-che-2005-correspondnece-others.pdf

1182-che-2005-description(complete).pdf

1182-che-2005-drawings.pdf

1182-che-2005-form 1.pdf

1182-che-2005-form 26.pdf