Techniques for access control using wearable devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9697657-B2
Application number	US-201414582982-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 24, 2014
Priority date	Dec 24, 2014
Publication date	Jul 4, 2017
Grant date	Jul 4, 2017

Abstract

Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques for using little or no electric power to monitor whether a wearable device continues to be worn by a person such that it may continue to be used to access a secured item. An apparatus may include a processor component; a storage to store an access credential; a presentation component to wirelessly transmit the access credential to an access device to enable a grant of access to a secured item; a power source; and a clasp coupled to a wearable portion to prevent removal of the wearable portion unless the clasp is operated to change state from a clasped state to an unclasped state, the clasp to cause loss of electric power from the power source to the processor component and the storage when in the unclasped state to nullify the access credential. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus to effect access control comprising:
a processor component;
a storage accessible to the processor component to store an access credential, the storage susceptible to exposure to a magnetic field to nullify the access credential by at least partial erasure of the access credential within the storage;
a presentation component to retrieve the access credential from the storage and to send the access credential to an access device to enable a grant of access to a secured item; and
a clasp coupled to a wearable portion to prevent removal of the wearable portion unless the clasp is operated to change state from a clasped state to an unclasped state, the clasp to move a magnet toward the storage to increase exposure of the storage to a magnetic field of the magnet in the unclasped state and to move the magnet away from the storage to decrease exposure to the magnetic field of the magnet in the clasped state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising:
an antenna; and
an interface to couple the processor component to the antenna to provide the processor component with electric power conveyed to the antenna via an electromagnetic field to execute the presentation component, the presentation component to cooperate with the interface to transmit the access credential via near field communications (NFC).

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , the presentation component to test the access credential to determine whether the access credential has been nullified, and to condition transmission of the access credential on the results of the test.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising:
an antenna; and
an interface to couple the processor component to the antenna to provide the processor component with electric power conveyed to the antenna via an electromagnetic field to execute the presentation component, the presentation component to retrieve an identifier from the storage and to cooperate with the interface to transmit the identifier to an initialization device via NFC to obtain the access credential.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , comprising:
at least one of a switch coupled to the clasp or electrical contacts coupled to the clasp to change a state of a flow of current based on the state of the clasp; and
a status component to determine the state of the clasp from the state of the flow of current and to cooperate with the interface to transmit an indication of the state of the clasp to the initialization device via NFC.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , comprising:
a sensor to detect whether the wearable portion is current worn about a portion of a body of a person; and
a status component to monitor the sensor and to cooperate with the interface to transmit an indication of whether the wearable portion is currently worn to the initialization device via NFC.

7. A method for effecting access control comprising:
wirelessly transmitting from a wearable device an access credential retrieved from a storage of the wearable device to an access device to enable a grant of access to a secured item using electric power from an electromagnetic field present at the wearable device; and
nullifying the access credential within the storage by increasing exposure of the storage to a magnetic field from a magnet when a clasp of the wearable device is operated to change state from a clasped state to an unclasped state, the clasp to prevent removal of the wearable device unless the clasp is operated to change state from the clasped state to the unclasped state, and the clasp to move the magnet toward the storage to increase exposure of the storage to the magnetic field of the magnet in the unclasped state and to move the magnet away from the storage to decrease exposure of the magnetic field of the magnet in the clasped state.

8. The method of claim 7 , the method comprising transmitting from the wearable device the access credential to the access device via near field communications (NFC).

9. The method of claim 8 , the method comprising conditioning transmission of the access credential on whether that clasp has changed state from the clasped state to the unclasped state following receipt of the access credential via NFC and storage of the access credential within the storage.

10. The method of claim 7 , the method comprising transmitting from the wearable device an identifier of the wearable to an initialization device via NFC to obtain the access credential.

11. The method of claim 10 , the method comprising:
monitoring the state of the clasp; and
transmitting an indication of the state of the clasp to the initialization device via NFC.

12. The method of claim 10 , the method comprising:
encrypting the access credential prior to transmission of the access credential;
decrypting the access credential following receipt of the access credential and prior to storage of the access credential within the storage; and
encrypting the identifier prior to transmission of the identifier.

13. At least one tangible machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a wearable device, cause the wearable device to:
wirelessly transmit an access credential retrieved from a storage of the wearable device to an access device to enable a grant of access to a secured item using electric power from an electromagnetic field present at the wearable device; and
nullify the access credential within the storage by increasing exposure of the storage to a magnetic field from a permanent magnet when a clasp of the wearable device is operated to change state from a clasped state to an unclasped state, the clasp to prevent removal of the wearable device unless the clasp is operated to change state from the clasped state to the unclasped state, and the clasp to move the magnet toward the storage to increase exposure of the storage to the magnetic field of the magnet in the unclasped state and to move the magnet away from the storage to decrease exposure of the magnetic field of the magnet in the clasped state.

14. The at least one tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 13 , the wearable device sized and shaped to be worn about a portion of a body of a person, the clasp to prevent removal of the wearable device from the portion of the body unless the clasp is operated from the clasped state to the unclasped state.

15. The at least one tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 13 , the wearable device caused to transmit an identifier of the wearable to an initialization device via NFC to obtain the access credential.

16. The at least one tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , the wearable device caused to:
monitor the state of the clasp; and
transmit an indication of the state of the clasp to the initialization device via NFC.

17. The at least one tangible machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , the wearable device caused to:
monitor a sensor of the wearable device to detect whether the wearable device is currently worn; and
transmit an indication of whether the wearable device is currently worn to the initialization device via NFC.

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Anderson Glen J
• Reina Justin M

Classifications

• G07C9/29

  the pass containing active electronic elements, e.g. smartcards · CPC title

• G07C9/22 Primary

  in combination with an identity check of the pass holder · CPC title

• G08B21/0286

  Tampering or removal detection of the child unit from child or article · CPC title

• G06K19/07381

  with deactivation or otherwise incapacitation of at least a part of the circuit upon detected tampering · CPC title

• A45F2005/002

  combined with other objects · CPC title