Pairable secure-access facilities

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9652918-B2
Application number	US-201615352380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 15, 2016
Priority date	Dec 1, 2014
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for providing access to secure-access facilities based on pairing of the secure-access facilities with a user device such as a wearable device. A pairable secure-access facility may be a public storage facility or device such as a locker that includes communications circuitry for pairing with the user device. Once paired with the user device, the locker may operate a locking mechanism to lock the locker when the user device is away from the locker and to unlock the locker when the user device is in the vicinity of the locker. The locker may include a beacon for detecting and pairing with the user devices. Pairing the user device and the locker may include entering a locker identifier into the user device to ensure that the intended user device is paired with the intended locker.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pairable secure-access facility, comprising:
an internal cavity;
a lockable opening to the cavity;
a mechanism for locking and unlocking the lockable opening;
a communication device comprising an electrode; and
a pairing module configured to:
transmit, via the electrode of the communication device, a first electrical signal to a user device along a portion of a user's skin, the first electrical signal comprising an identifier associated with the pairable secure-access facility;
receive, via the communication device, the identifier from the user device;
in response to receiving the identifier, transmit, via the communication device, access information to the user device to associate the user device with the pairable secure-access facility;
receive, via the communication device, the access information from the user device; and
in response to receiving the access information, operate the mechanism to unlock the lockable opening.

2. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 1 , wherein the pairing module is further configured to:
operate the mechanism to unlock the lockable opening when the user device is associated with the pairable secure-access facility and the user device is in communication with the communication device; and
operate the mechanism to lock the lockable opening when the user device is associated with the pairable secure-access facility and the user device is not in communication with the communication device.

3. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 1 , wherein the pairable secure-access facility comprises a locker, and wherein the user device is a wearable device.

4. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 1 , wherein the pairing module is further configured to receive the identifier from the user device by detecting, via the electrode of the communication device, a second electrical signal comprising the identifier transmitted from the user device along the portion of the user's skin.

5. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 1 , wherein the communication device further comprises wireless communications equipment, and wherein the pairing module is further configured to receive the identifier from the user device by receiving, via the wireless communications equipment of the communication device, a wireless signal comprising the identifier from the user device.

6. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 1 , wherein the pairing module is further configured to receive the access information from the user device by detecting, via the electrode of the communication device, a second electrical signal comprising the access information transmitted from the user device along the portion of the user's skin.

7. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 1 , wherein the communication device further comprises wireless communications equipment, and wherein the pairing module is further configured to receive the access information from the user device by receiving, via the wireless communications equipment of the communication device, a wireless signal comprising the access information from the user device.

8. The pairable secure-access facility of claim 7 , wherein the wireless communications equipment comprises near field communications (NFC) circuitry, and wherein the pairing module is further configured to receive the access information from the user device by receiving, via the NFC circuitry of the communication device, an NFC signal comprising the access information from the user device when the user device is tapped against the pairable secure-access facility.

9. A user device comprising:
a communication device comprising an electrode; and
a pairing module configured to:
detect, via the electrode of the communication device, a first electrical signal along a portion of a user's skin transmitted from a pairable secure-access facility, the first electrical signal comprising an identifier associated with the pairable secure-access facility;
transmit, via the communication device, the identifier to the pairable secure-access facility;
receive, via the communication device, access information to associate the user device with a pairable secure-access facility; and
transmit, via the communication device, the access information to the pairable secure-access facility to cause the pairable secure-access facility to unlock.

10. The user device of claim 9 , wherein the user device is a wearable device, and wherein the user device further comprises a hardware memory configured to store the access information.

11. The user device of claim 9 , wherein the paring module is further configured to transmit the identifier to the pairable secure-access facility by transmitting, via the electrode of the communication device, a second electrical signal comprising the identifier along the portion of the user's skin to the pairable secure-access facility.

12. The user device of claim 9 , wherein the communication device further comprises wireless communications equipment, and wherein the paring module is further configured to transmit the identifier to the pairable secure-access facility by transmitting, via the wireless communications equipment of the communication device, a wireless signal comprising the identifier to the pairable secure-access facility.

13. The user device of claim 9 , wherein the pairing module is further configured to transmit the access information to the pairable secure-access facility by transmitting, via the electrode of the communication device, a second electrical signal comprising the access information along the portion of the user's skin to the pairable secure-access facility.

14. The user device of claim 9 , wherein the communication device further comprises wireless communications equipment, and wherein the paring module is further configured to transmit the identifier to the pairable secure-access facility by transmitting, via the wireless communications equipment of the communication device, a wireless signal comprising the identifier to the pairable secure-access facility.

15. A method for providing access to a pairable secure-access facility, the method comprising:
transmitting, via an electrode of a communication device of the pairable secure-access facility, a first electrical signal to a user device along a portion of a user's skin, the first electrical signal comprising an identifier associated with the pairable secure-access facility;
receiving, via the communication device, the identifier from the user device;
in response to receiving the identifier, transmitting, via the communication device, access information to the user device to associate the user device with the pairable secure-access facility;
receiving, via the communication device, the access information from the user device; and
in response to receiving the access information, operating a locking mechanism of the pairable secure-access facility to unlock the pairable secure-access facility.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the pairable secure-access facility comprises a locker, and wherein the operating comprises:
operating the locking mechanism to unlock the locker when the user device is within a communication distance from the communication device of the pairable secure-access facility; and
operating the locking mechanism to lock the locker when the user device is outside the communication distance from the communication device of the pairable secure-access facility.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein receiving the identifier from the user device comprises detecting, via the electrode of the communicati

Assignees

• Ebay Inc

Inventors

• O'Toole Christopher Diebold
• Luk Bryant Genepang
• He Robert
• Bates Richard Chapman
• Brenner Jennifer T
• Tang Yu

Classifications

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• G07C2009/00809

  with data transmission through the human body · CPC title

• G07C9/00912

  for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like · CPC title

• G07C9/00182

  operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks · CPC title

• G07C2009/00968

  shape of the data carrier · CPC title