Mobile communication device
The mobile communication device is for use as a cell phone, as a wireless identity authentication device with other electronic devices (with cell phones, computers, and ATM's), and as a headset in the form of an earphone, an eye-covering, or a head covering for audio communication with a central processor, another mobile terminal a cell phone, or a pda. The mobile communication device is hands-free being worn on or near the face, and only requires a finger touching for bimodal identity authentication. An audio receiver is compatible with the ear of the user and a microphone transmits words spoken by the user, electronically therethrough. A fingerprint sensor is mounted and positioned within the device. When user authentication is required, the user is prompted to touch the fingerprint sensor, and said fingerprint data is compared with fingerprint images of authorized users. In another aspect of the invention, mobile communication device is an eye-covering, a head covering, or an identification badge including a fingerprint sensor and a processor and is used for wireless authentication of the user.
This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/783,785, entitled “Mobile Terminal,” filed on Mar. 20, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/788,084, entitled “Mobile Terminal With Glasses or Cap,” filed on Mar. 28, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/792,570, entitled “Mobile Terminal with Head Covering,” filed on Apr. 16, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/792,571, entitled “Mobile Terminal with Glasses or Head Covering,” filed on Apr. 16, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/801,634, entitled “Mobile Terminal With Glasses Or Cap,” filed on May 18, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/813,402, entitled “Mobile Terminal,” filed on Jun. 14, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/861,917, entitled “Mobile Terminal,” filed on Nov. 30, 2006; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/877,998, entitled “Mobile Terminal Device,” filed on Dec. 29, 2006; and PCT Application WO/2008/008101, entitled “Mobile Communication Device,” filed on Mar. 20, 2007.
FIELD OF USEThe invention involves a mobile communication device that is dual purpose for use with a head set of a cell phone or pda, or as a stand-alone unit, and more particularly, as a hands-free mobile communication device is for use with to gain access to the most secure physical, financial, and data access.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn recent years, we have witnessed exponential growth in the penetration rate of mobile telephones and personal digital assistants. The automobile was one of the first environments to become widely populated by cell phones beyond the home and office, allowing people to keep in touch while on the move, or while stuck in traffic. Due to the obvious dangers of holding a cell phone in one hand and driving with the other, many regions of the world either strongly recommend or legally enforce hands-free telephone operation in all moving vehicles. It is now illegal to use a handset while driving.
If a user is performing a task that requires both hands, then the user may not be able to interact with a device to receive a communication. For example, if a parent is grocery shopping with small children, the parent may not be able to handle a mobile telephone to answer an incoming call. Similarly, if a mobile telephone is carried in a purse or a backpack, the user may not be able to locate and answer the telephone before the caller hangs up, particularly if the user is also driving a vehicle. Furthermore, the use of a headset may allow a user to perform such applications without necessarily remaining stationary. Hands-free technology also allows users to multi-task in comfort, resulting in increased effectiveness and productivity.
We are becoming increasingly dependent upon computers to store and access data that affects our lives. Computers are able to remotely access time-sensitive information, on or near a real-time basis from the Internet. It is now essential that a user have access to computer data while at all times.
Currently, phone technology has is the wireless device of choice and many other technologies (e.g.—cameras, smart-phones, Internet connections) are being made compatible with the cell phone.
Some cell phones provide hands-free units that permit the user to talk without having to hold the handset. However, even with the hands-free unit, the user must still dial the phone number or speak the phone number to initiate the call. In general, speech-recognition technology comprises a mechanism for receiving an input voice signal, comparing the input voice signal with stored voice signals, and determining if the input voice signal is sufficiently similar to any of the stored voice signals. If there is a match between the input and stored voice signals, instructions or other data is generated by the device.
In the state-of-the-art headsets the loudspeakers, microphones and communications transceiver devices are combined to a single headset device which is then attached to the users ear. In cordless and portable headset equipment only compact headset types that are mounted on one ear are able to meet the high requirements set by the user in regard to comfort and user friendliness.
A wearable computer provides the user with perfect recall of previously collected information. Rather than attempting to emulate human intelligence in the computer, wearable computing aims to produce a synergistic combination of human and machine, in which the human performs tasks that it is does better, while the computer performs tasks that it does better. Wearable computing affords mobility, personal empowerment, and the freedom from the need to be connected by wire to a communications line. U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,526 (Jannard) discloses wireless interactive headset in the shape of eyeglasses. And, U.S. Publication No. 20040204207 (Parker) discloses a hat, or baseball cap, modified to include a removable headset having a speaker and microphone and a rear mounted pocket holding a cell phone. And, U.S. Publication No. 20050116811 (Eros et al.) discloses a bracelet that the individual wears of a verification signal sent by a central computer unit.
Looking at some other biometric technology, U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,285 (Baratelli) discloses a smart card with integrated fingerprint reader. The sensing surface of the smart card is located such that a users thumb is naturally positioned over the sensing surface when the card is inserted into a suitable card reader. U.S. Pat. No. 7,088,220 (Kotzin) discloses a wireless communication device using a plurality of biometric sensors for assessing the identity of a user requesting access to a feature or service provided via the wireless communication device.
What is needed is a device that is ubiquitous to the user that readily carried and located when needed, that comes is a variety of fashions, and can be carried by the user that is compatible with a cell phone or a computer-based wireless communications device, which has become the platform for a broad range of wireless technologies.
What is needed is a device that can confirm the identity of the user in the most secure of all user applications involving either financial security, physical security, or data security, confirming irrefutably the identity of the user, providing bimodal or even multimodal biometric authentication, while enabling the convenience of the use of both hands at all times except when submitting such biometric data.
What is needed is a series of multi-purpose headsets for mobile terminals that are ubiquitous to the user to be able to confirm user identify from any of a variety of locations, and use such confirmation to gain physical access, financial access, and data access from any location in a smooth and seamless manner.
What is needed is wireless identifier device that is a headset, either as a stand-alone unit, with a cell phone, or with a computer-based wireless communications device, that can be worn for long periods of time with minimal discomfort to the user, that can provide fingerprint certainty for all identity authentication, the sensor being small, rugged, and inexpensive, the terminal enabling the person to have use of both hands for driving a car, encourages multi-tasking and enabling a user to access the most personal records from essentially any location.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe most fundamental issue in the mobile communication devices of the present invention is that of personal empowerment controlled by the wearer. The mobile communication devices of the present invention are hands-free systems that (1) do not require encumbering wires, (2) can be embedded into existing products worn on the head or about the face, (3) are phone-centric, use speech-recognition technology, and are easy to use, (4) can readily accept a user fingerprint sensor embedded into the device, (5) and can be used in a wide range of applications.
The dual-purpose mobile communication devices of the present invention are integrated into headsets; eye-coverings, such as prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, or sports goggles; or head-coverings, such as a baseball cap, a civilian hard hat, a football helmet, a hoodie, or any other civilian head covering with a bill that is worn near the mouth of the wearer and can be used as a cell phone or computer-based wireless communications device, as a communication device with another terminal, or as a mobile computer terminal for audio communication with a central processor. The terminal device can operate as a stand-atone unit or with a cell phone, or computer-based wireless communications device. The mobile communication device of the present invention can also be used as a wireless identity authentication device with other electronic devices, such as cell phones, computers, or ATM's.
A fingerprint sensor is embedded or mounted onto the device. When user authentication is required, the user can be prompted to touch the fingerprint sensor. Initially, a person who needs to be authorized to use the terminal submits user data in a registration process. Reference biometric prints are captured during the registration prints, the biometric prints preferably being voice prints, and finger and thumb prints for both hands. Then, subsequently, when the person tries to either transmit or receive signals through the terminal, a sensor in the terminal captures a biometric of the voice, finger, or thumb, and compares such reading against the reference prints of authorized users. If and only if the prints match, user authentication is enabled. If the prints do not match, access is denied.
Multimodal authentication is preferred since the use of more than one authenticating factor decreases the likelihood of false positives, that is, the likelihood of an unauthorized user gaining access. The fingerprint is initially used, and the voiceprint is used for confirmation. Alternatively, multiple fingerprint images can be captured. Also, voice recognition is used to confirm the identity of the person wearing the headset.
In the preferred embodiment of the headset of the present invent, the headsets are “on” essentially all the time during the business day providing each user with full agility and mobility while in continuous audio communication. The headset enables each agent to have both hands free, which is needed for processing passengers.
The mobile communication device of the present invention is any device that includes memory and processing power, that has access to a central processing unit including memory and means for delivering data (computer screen, audio receiver) to the user, and means for the user to enter data (audio transmitter, keypad, camera, touch sensitive screen) to the central processing unit, such devices including but not limited to cell phones, cordless phones, conventional wired phones, tethered phones, cordless phones, walkie-talkies, handheld computers, personal digital assistants, pen-based computers, remote controls, smart phones, and similar-type device.
The mobile communication device of the present invention affords and requires mobility, and the freedom from the need to be connected by wire to an electrical outlet, or communications line. Rather than attempting to emulate human intelligence in the computer, as is a common goal of research in Artificial Intelligence, the goal of these mobile terminals is to produce a synergistic combination of human and machine, in which the human performs tasks that it is better at, while the computer performs tasks that it is better at.
Some of the advantages of the mobile communication device of the present invent is that it is both hands-free and eyes-free; is worn on the ear, face or head; can be easily found when needed; provides fingerprint certainty; can be used for (a) physical access; (b) data access; and (c) financial access; uses durable sensors that are compatible with other biometric systems; uses inexpensive sensors that are state-of-the-art; is compatible with cell phones, handheld computers, and personal computers; and provides a date-time stamp for all communications.
Short-distance wireless communication technologies are used to transmit data from a sensor to a headset, from a headset to a cellphone, from a headset to computer, or from an identification device to a computer. The wireless communicating based on these communication technologies can establish the cordless communication between devices and terminals, thereby simplifying the device connection work and, at the same time, enhancing convenience because it is substantially unnecessary to select installation spaces of the cordlessly connected devices.
To make a call using the mobile communication device of the present invention, the user needs to speak into the microphone the name or number that is sought. Speech-recognition technology is used, much the same as deployed in vehicles. For example, U.S. Publication No. 20050143134 (Harwood et al.) discloses a vehicular, hands-free telephone system. The appliance uses text-to-speech to transfer phonebook entries from the cell phone to memory of the appliance. The appliance uses text-to-speech to read and display text messages incoming to the cell phone for the operator to hear and view. The appliance initiates connecting and disconnecting of the cell phone with the appliance in response to voice commands of the operator.
The term “headset”, as used herein refers to a mobile communication device for providing sounds into which sound signals output from a sound device are heard by a user, and the voice of the user is converted into electrical signals, the headset being either a stand-alone unit, in digital communication with another headset, a cell phone, or a computer. The headset enables the user to communicate hands-free. The term “cap” as used herein refers to a garment selected by a person to be worn as a fashion statement to cover the head of the person to provide warmth to the head, to protect the head from rain or snow, or to protect the eyes from the sun.
For a more complete understanding of the mobile terminal of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which the presently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example. As the invention may be embodied in many forms without departing from spirit of essential characteristics thereof, it is expressly understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
Referring now to the drawings,
The mobile communication device 10A of
The core of the mobile communication device of the present invention is a fingerprint sensor (14A and 14B respectively) enabling the person wearing the headset to authenticate user identity. The fingerprint sensor is commercially available from Authentec. If an area sensor is to be used (as shown), the MBF 200 is commercially available from Fujitsu of Japan, and the FPC1010 is commercially available from Fingerprint Cards AB of Gothenburg, Sweden. If a sweep sensor is used, the sensor of choice is either the Entrépad 1510 or the Entrépad 2510. The fingerprint is generally submitted upon response to a system prompt submitted to the wearer through the audio receiver. Another sweep sensor of choice is manufactured by Atmel, the AT77C104, the FingerChip having integrated navigation. The fingerprint sensor (14A or 14B) not only protects the phone and its stored information, but enables operators to provide new, profitable services such as mobile commerce and wireless banking. The sensor also allows manufacturers to easily add new features like gaming navigation, touch menu scrolling, multi-finger speed dialing, hot key application launch, favorite song and photo recall, and others that differentiate the phone and improve the user experience.
The mobile communication device 10A of
Having a wearable computer on the face or as a head covering has much utility for people in outdoor applications—particularly, with the GPS sensor, and even without the biosensor. For example, a scout leader can maintain two-way communications continually with a group of scouts on an outdoor, overnight field trip. The scout leader equips each of the individual scouts with headsets with the GPS sensor. In the event that one or more scouts get lost, hurt, or otherwise separated from the main unit, the headset is an invaluable device for locating the separated scout or scouts.
Multispectral Imaging, Inc. is a leader in the design and development of infrared imaging systems, today announced an exclusive worldwide license with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for its patents involving the use of microcantilever sensors for infrared imaging. The company is commercializing unique and proprietary technology that has the potential for radical improvements in both price and performance of uncooled infrared focal plane arrays.
Speaker authentication is also starting to move into call centers. As with speech recognition, call-center deployments have the potential for being a huge market. Call centers are under increasing pressure to automate as a way of reducing cost, attenuating the impact (and cost) of agent turnover, and providing services 24/7. Usually speaker authentication is partnered with speech recognition for customer-facing and partner-facing applications. Most often, speaker authentication is added to existing speech-recognition applications but it is an increasingly popular feature of new deployments as well.
Some call-center applications extend the definition of speaker authentication. For most applications, speaker authentication is synonymous with speaker verification: a one-to-one comparison of the voiceprint of the caller with the system's stored voiceprint for the identity the caller is claiming to have. In the call-center arena there are many applications where more than one person is authorized to access information or engage in secured activities (e.g., joint accounts). When those people share a password, which may occur when the password is an account number, the system needs to compare the caller's voiceprint with stored voiceprints for all of the authorized individuals. When the system only needs to determine whether the speaker belongs to the group of authorized speakers the process is called speaker classification. When the identity of the group member needs to be determined the process is called speaker identification. In either case it entails one-to-many matching.
A voice biometric is a numerical model of the sound, pattern and rhythm of an individual's voice. A voice biometric is as unique to an individual as a finger or palm print. The voice print is established in a registration session or over a period of time as the user continually uses the device.
The headset incorporates a microphone configured for capturing audio signals. The headset incorporates processing circuitry, which is configured for analyzing digitized representations of audio signals captured by the microphone. The processing circuitry will include suitable digitization circuitry for providing appropriate representations of the audio signals for further processing. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the processing circuitry includes speech detection circuitry, which is configured to analyze the sampled representations of the audio signals to detect speech of the user. The processing circuitry includes circuitry, or interfaces with circuitry, which is configured for transmission of the digitized or sampled representations to a device, such as portable terminal when speech is detected (see for example U.S. Publication No. 20050070337 (Byford et al.) which discloses a wireless headset for use in a speech recognition environment.)
Short-distance wireless communication technologies are used to transmit data from a sensor to a headset, from a headset to a cellphone, from a headset to computer, or from an identification device to a computer. The wireless communicating based on these communication technologies can establish the cordless communication between devices and terminals, thereby simplifying the device connection work and, at the same time, enhancing convenience because it is substantially unnecessary to select installation spaces of the cordlessly connected devices.
The short-distance wireless communication may be used, for example, not only for the data transfer between a computer main frame and its peripheral devices, but also for the data exchange between mobile information devices, and data and audio transmission between a telephone main body, a mobile music player, and a headset, and between a main phone and its cordless headset. BLuetooth™ is the short-distance wireless communication of choice. However, it is to be expressly understood that the metes and bounds of this invention are not to be so limited and that other short-distance wireless communication technologies which include DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) XML (extensible Markup Language), a wireless LAN standardized by IEEE802.11a/b/g/h or the like, UWB (Ultra Wide Band), HAVi™, ZigBee™, NFC, infrared communication, can also be used as short-distance wireless communication schemes.
Throughout there are various patents and patent applications and provisional applications referenced by patent number and inventor. The disclosures of these patents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this specification in order to more fully describe the state-of-the-art.
It is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations of the mobile computer terminal of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the disclosure herein. It is intended that the metes and bounds of the present invention be determined by the appended claims rather than by the language of the above specification, and that all such alternatives, modifications, and variations which form a conjointly cooperative equivalent are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of these claims.
Claims
1. A mobile communication device comprising:
- a headset enabling a digital connection to a communications system; and
- a headset processor, said headset processor being in electrical communication with a headset fingerprint sensor, the headset fingerprint sensor for capturing sensed fingerprint data of a headset user, the headset processor including headset processor memory for retaining sensed fingerprint data, said communications system authenticating user identity as determined by a system processor, said authenticating of user identity being made at least in part based upon a comparison of said sensed fingerprint data and reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user.
2. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the system processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling the user to access or enter secure data.
3. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the system processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling the user to make a secure communication.
4. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the system processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling physical access to a secure area.
5. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein said headset processor enables an initial screening of said sensed fingerprint data and said reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user.
6. The mobile communication device of claim 1, further comprising an audio receiver that enables said user of said mobile communication device to pick-up audio signals, said user touching said fingerprint sensor in response to an audio prompt, said audio prompt being received by said user through said audio receiver.
7. mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein said system processor is external to said headset.
8. A mobile communication device comprising:
- a handset including a handset fingerprint sensor, a handset processor, and a short-distance wireless communication device that enables wireless communication between said headset and said handset, said handset processor including handset processor memory for retaining sensed handset fingerprint data, user authentication being determined by a handset processor when said handset fingerprint sensor is used, said handset processor disposed in said handset, said handset processor making an authentication determination based at least in part upon a comparison of said sensed handset fingerprint data and handset reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user when said handset fingerprint sensor is used by said user to authenticate user identity; and
- a headset including a headset fingerprint sensor, and a headset processor, said headset processor including headset processor memory for retaining sensed headset fingerprint data, user authentication being determined by said headset processor when said headset fingerprint sensor is used, said headset processor disposed in said headset, said headset processor making a determination based at least in part upon a comparison of said sensed headset fingerprint data captured from the headset fingerprint sensor and handset reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user when said headset fingerprint sensor is used by said user to authenticate user identity.
9. The mobile communication device of claim 8, wherein the headset processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling the user to access or enter secure data.
10. The mobile communication device of claim 8, wherein the headset processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling the user to make a secure communication.
11. The mobile communication device of claim 8, wherein the headset processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling physical access to a secure area.
12. The mobile communication device of claim 8, wherein said headset processor enables an initial screening of said sensed fingerprint data and said reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user.
13. The mobile communication device of claim 8, further comprising an audio receiver that enables said user of said mobile communication device to pick-up audio signals, said user touching said fingerprint sensor in response to an audio prompt, said audio prompt being received by said user through said audio receiver.
14. A mobile communication device for providing bimodal biometric authentication of a user, said mobile communication device being digitally connected to a communications system, said mobile communication device comprising:
- a headset enabling a digital connection to a communications systems, said headset including a microphone for transmitting user voice data, said user voice data having biometric properties, said microphone enabling capture of user voice data; and
- a headset processor, said headset processor being in electrical communication with a headset fingerprint sensor, the headset fingerprint sensor enabling capture of sensed fingerprint data of a headset user, said headset processor including headset processor memory for retaining user voice data and user sensed fingerprint data, said communications system authenticating user identity as determined by a systems processor;
- whereby said system processor enables an authentication determination of a user to be made based at least in part upon a comparison of said user voice data and reference voice data of at least one authorized user; and
- whereby said system processor enables an authentication determination of a user to be made based at least in part upon a comparison of said sensed fingerprint data captured from the headset fingerprint sensor and reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user.
15. The mobile communication device of claim 14, wherein said system processor is external to said headset.
16. The mobile communication device of claim 14, wherein the system processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling the user to access or enter secure data.
17. The mobile communication device of claim 14, wherein the system processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling the user to make a secure communication.
18. The mobile communication device of claim 14, wherein the system processor determines authentication of user identity by use of user finger data captured through the headset fingerprint sensor, said authentication enabling physical access to a secure area.
19. The mobile communication device of claim 14, wherein said headset processor enables an initial screening of said sensed fingerprint data and said reference fingerprint data of at least one authorized user.
20. The mobile communication device of claim 14, further comprising an audio receiver that enables said user of said mobile communication device to pick-up audio signals, said user touching said fingerprint sensor in response to an audio prompt, said audio prompt being received by said user through said audio receiver.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 22, 2008
Publication Date: Dec 9, 2010
Inventors: Gerald R. Black (Southfield, MI), Alyssa S. Black (Grand Rapids, MI)
Application Number: 12/284,405
International Classification: H04M 1/66 (20060101); H04L 9/32 (20060101);