Method and system for licensing and delivering keys for sensors and receivers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12244692-B2
Application number	US-202217728102-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2022
Priority date	Oct 25, 2019
Publication date	Mar 4, 2025
Grant date	Mar 4, 2025

Abstract

A method for licensing a sensor at a central body, a method for licensing a receiver at a central body, a method for providing a list of sensor keys by using a central body, a method for registering a licensed sensor on a licensed receiver and a system for transmitting data from a licensed sensor to a licensed receiver, allow sensors and receivers to be licensed while also simultaneously ensuring secure delivery of the transmission key for communication purposes or for data exchange between the sensors and the receivers. The transmission key can be transmitted in an encrypted matter and there is no need to transmit the transmission key in an unencrypted manner. It is also possible to establish a licensing model for sensors and receivers by virtue of the secure delivery of the transmission key.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for licensing a sensor at a central body, the method comprising:
providing:
the sensor having a unique ID including its unique serial number in a range of serial numbers for sensors, the sensor being able to act as a transmitter of encrypted data to a receiver,
the central body acting as a licensing body including a computer system and a database,
a sensor manufacturer including a computer system, and
a data connection between the sensor manufacturer and the central body;

keeping a list of sensor keys in the database of the central body;
generating a first key pair, formed of a private and a public key, at the sensor manufacturer;
transmitting the public key of the first key pair from the sensor manufacturer to the central body;
assigning a range of serial numbers for sensors to the first key pair;
generating a second key pair, formed of a private and a public key, at the central body for the range of serial numbers for sensors;
transmitting the public key of the second key pair from the central body to the sensor manufacturer;
assigning the range of serial numbers for sensors to the second key pair;
storing the public key of the first key pair, the private key of the second key pair and the assigned range of serial numbers for sensors in the list of sensor keys in the central body;
using the sensor manufacturer to encrypt a transmission key, used for an encrypted data transmission between the sensor and the receiver, with the private key of the first key pair and the public key of the second key pair, and to store the encrypted transmission key in the each individual sensor of the plurality of sensors; and
using the sensor manufacturer:
to store the private key of the first key pair and the public key of the second key pair in each sensor of the plurality of sensors, or
to additionally store the transmission key unencrypted.

2. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises assigning the range of serial numbers for sensors to the sensor manufacturer by the central body when issuing a license.

3. A method for licensing a receiver at a central body, the method comprising:
providing:
the receiver having a unique ID including its unique serial number in a range of serial numbers for receivers, the sensor being able to act as a receiver of encrypted data from a sender,
the central body acting as a licensing body including a computer system and a database,
a receiver manufacturer including a computer system, and
a data connection between the receiver manufacturer and the central body;

generating a third key pair, formed of a private and a public key, at the receiver manufacturer;
transmitting the public key of the third key pair from the sensor manufacturer to the central body;
assigning a range of serial numbers for receivers to the third key pair;
generating a fourth key pair, formed of a private and a public key, at the central body for the range of serial numbers for receivers;
transmitting the public key of the fourth key pair from the central body to the receiver manufacturer;
assigning a range of serial numbers for receivers to the fourth key pair;
using the receiver manufacturer to store the private key of the third key pair and the public key of the fourth key pair in the receiver;
keeping a list of receiver keys in the database of the central body, and
storing the public key of the third key pair for each individual receiver of the range of serial numbers for receivers, the private key of the fourth key pair and the assigned range of serial numbers for receivers in the list of receiver keys in the central body.

4. The method according to claim 3 , which further comprises providing the receiver with a unique ID including its unique serial number in the range of serial numbers for receivers.

5. The method according to claim 3 , which further comprises assigning the range of serial numbers for receivers to the receiver manufacturer by the central body when issuing a license.

6. The method according to claim 3 , which further comprises:
using the central body to encrypt the list of sensor keys with the public key of the third key pair and the private key of the fourth key pair.

7. The method according to claim 6 , which further comprises using the central body to encrypt the list of sensor keys with the public key of the third key pair and the private key of the fourth key pair of each receiver having a key stored in the list of receiver keys.

8. The method according to claim 6 , which further comprises using the central body to publish the list of sensor keys.

9. The method according to claim 6 , which further comprises using a certification authority to sign the list of sensor keys.

10. A method for registering a sensor being licensed on a receiver being licensed by using a central body, the method comprising:
providing:
the sensor having a unique ID including its unique serial number in a range of serial numbers for sensors, the sensor being able to act as a transmitter of encrypted data to a receiver,
the receiver having a unique ID including its unique serial number in a range of serial numbers for receivers and being able to act as a receiver of encrypted data from a sender,
the central body acting as a licensing body including a computer system and a database,
a data connection between the sensor and the receiver, and
a data connection between the receiver and the central body;

providing a list of sensor keys according to claim 8 ;
using the receiver to obtain the list of sensor keys from the central body;
using the receiver to decrypt the list of sensor keys by using the private key of the third key pair and the public key of the fourth key pair;
using the sensor to transfer the stored encrypted transmission key to the receiver;
using the receiver to extract a public key of a first key pair corresponding to the sensor and a private key of a second key pair from the list of sensor keys; and
using the receiver to decrypt the encrypted transmission key using the public key of the first key pair and the private key of the second key pair.

11. The method according to claim 10 , which further comprises using the sensor to send its ID to the receiver, and using the receiver to utilize the serial number contained in the ID to extract the keys assigned to the range of sensor serial numbers from the list of sensor keys.

12. The method according to claim 10 , which further comprises using the sensor to send data encrypted with the transmission key to the receiver, and using the receiver to decrypt the encrypted data by using the transmission key.

13. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises using the transmission key to describe a symmetrical encryption method.

14. The method according to claim 12 , which further comprises providing at least one of the ID of the sensor or an ID of the receiver as a MAC address.

15. The method according to claim 12 , which further comprises at least one of determining the range of serial numbers for sensors from the ID or a MAC address of the sensor or determining the range of serial numbers for receivers from an ID or a MAC address of the receiver.

16. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises using at least one of the first key pair or the second key pair or a third key pair or a fourth key pair to describe an asymmetric encryption method.

17. The method according to claim 16 , which further comprises at least one of using a MAC address or a part of a MAC address of the sensor to generate the second

Assignees

• Diehl Metering Systems Gmbh

Inventors

• Fendt Charles
• Schmidt Achim

Classifications

• H04L9/14

  using a plurality of keys or algorithms · CPC title

• H04L9/0866

  involving user or device identifiers, e.g. serial number, physical or biometrical information, DNA, hand-signature or measurable physical characteristics · CPC title

• H04L9/085

  Secret sharing or secret splitting, e.g. threshold schemes · CPC title

• H04L9/321

  involving a third party or a trusted authority · CPC title

• H04L2209/805

  Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor · CPC title