METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT OF SWITCHING LOCKED STATE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE
In a verification method for use in an electronic device, a user input is received and a biologic feature data is captured while the user input is received. Then, the electronic device is prohibited from performing an operation corresponding to the user input based on a determination that the biologic feature data does not conform to a reference biologic feature data.
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This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/887,239 filed Sep. 21, 2010, now pending. The content of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and made a part of this specification.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a method and a computer program product of switching a locked state, and more particular to a method and a computer program product of switching a locked state while receiving an input from a user for an operation. The present invention also relates to an electronic device whose locked state is optionally switched while receiving an input from a user for an operation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn consideration of information security, it is more and more common to impart a user-verifying function to an electronic device, and more particularly to a portable device such as USB drive, smart phone, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., which is subject to loss. Generally, the user-verifying function is performed by way of biologic feature check, e.g. fingerprint check.
Please refer to
As the fingerprint-verifying procedure has to be conducted to unlock the phone before a user may successfully operate the phone, it is troublesome and time-consuming to general users.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTherefore, an object of the present invention is to simplify a user-identifying process of electronic device in order to improve the utilization rate of a user-identifying function for information security of the electronic device.
In an aspect of the present invention, a method of switching a locked state of an electronic device with a user-verifying function is provided. In the method, a biologic feature data from a user is captured while receiving an input from the user for an operation when the electronic device is in a locked state. Whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data is then determined. If it is determined that the biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data, the electronic device is switched from the locked state into a non-locked state and directly controls the electronic device to perform the operation according to the input when the biologic feature data is determined conforming to the reference biologic feature data.
In another method of switching a locked state of an electronic device with a user-verifying function according to the present invention, a biologic feature data from a user is captured while receiving an input from the user for an operation when the electronic device is in a non-locked state. Whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data is then determined. If the biologic feature data is not determined conforming to the reference biologic feature data, the electronic device is switched from the non-locked state into a locked state and prohibited from performing the operation according to the input.
In another aspect of the present invention, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes: an input module configured to capture a first biologic feature data from a first user while receiving a first input from the first user for a first operation; a determining module, coupled to the input module, configured to determine whether the first biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and a control module, coupled to the determining module, configured to switch the electronic device from the locked state into a non-locked state, and directly control the electronic device to perform the first operation according to the first input when determining module determines the first biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
In another electronic device according to the present invention, an input module, a determining module and a control module are included, wherein the input module is configured to capture a biologic feature data from a user while receiving an input from the user for an operation of the electronic device when the electronic device is in a non-locked state; the determining module is coupled to the input module and configured to determine whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and the control module is coupled to the determining module and configured to switch the electronic device from the non-locked state into a locked state and prohibit the electronic device from performing the operation according to the input when the determining module determines the biologic feature data does not conform to the reference biologic feature data.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions is provided. The instructions, when executed by a processor in an electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations of: capturing a biologic feature data from a user while receiving an input from the user for an operation when the electronic device is in a locked state; determining whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and switching the electronic device from the locked state into a non-locked state and directly controlling the electronic device to perform the operation according to the input when the biologic feature data is determined conforming to the reference biologic feature data.
In another computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions according to the present invention, the instructions, when executed by a processor in an electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations of: capturing a biologic feature data from a user while receiving an input from the user for an operation when the electronic device is in a non-locked state; determining whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and switching the electronic device from the non-locked state into a locked state and prohibiting the electronic device from performing the operation according to the input when the biologic feature data is not determined conforming to the reference biologic feature data.
The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.
Please refer to
In the embodiment illustrated in
In an example that the electronic device is a mobile phone with a touch screen, a user may conduct a manipulating input by way of the touch screen with his finger even when the mobile phone is in a locked state. While the user's finger is moving on the touch screen to execute a specified function such as scrolling a picture, the user's fingerprint data is captured and compared with the previously stored reference fingerprint data. Alternatively, the user may put his finger on the optical sensor to be scanned so that the mobile phone in the locked state may capture the user's fingerprint data and compare it with the reference fingerprint data. If the two fingerprint data are comparable, the locked state of the mobile phone is cleared so that the picture-scrolling function is performed. On the other hand, if the current user's fingerprint data does not conform to the reference fingerprint data, the mobile phone is still in the locked state. That is, the picture-scrolling function will not be performed.
In another example that the electronic device is a mobile phone with a voice control mechanism, a user may conduct an operation with his voice even when the mobile phone is in a locked state. While the user speaks to execute a specified function such as making a phone call, the user's voice print data is captured by a voice-identifying module and compared with the previously stored reference voice print data. If the two voice print data are comparable, the locked state of the mobile phone is cleared so that the calling function is performed. On the other hand, if the current user's voice print data does not conform to the reference voice print data, the mobile phone is still in the locked state. That is, no phone call could be made.
In this way, an authorized user whose biologic feature data has been registered is capable of using the mobile phone in the locked state without additional operation to unlock the phone. In contrast, an unauthorized user whose biologic feature data was not recorded cannot operate the phone as the phone remains in the locked state. In other words, conventional user-verification conducted through a specific verifying procedure can be exempted from for an authorized user, while information can still be secured from an unauthorized user.
In the above embodiments associated with
In another embodiment illustrated in the flowchart of
In an example that the electronic device is a mobile phone with a touch screen, a user may conduct a manipulating input by way of the touch screen with his finger when the mobile phone is in an unlocked state. While the user's finger is moving on the touch screen to execute a specified function such as scrolling a picture, the user's fingerprint data is captured and compared with the previously stored reference fingerprint data. Alternatively, the user may put his finger on the optical sensor to be scanned so that the mobile phone in the unlocked state may capture the user's fingerprint data and compare it with the reference fingerprint data. If the two fingerprint data are comparable, the picture-scrolling function is successfully performed. On the other hand, if the current user's fingerprint data does not conform to the reference fingerprint data, the mobile phone enters a locked state. That is, the picture-scrolling function will not be performed.
In another example that the electronic device is a mobile phone with a voice control mechanism, a user may conduct an operation with his voice when the mobile phone is in a locked state. While the user speaks to execute a specified function such as making a phone call, the user's voice print data is captured by a voice-identifying module and compared with the previously stored reference voice print data. If the two voice print data are comparable, the calling function is successfully performed. On the other hand, if the current user's voice print data does not conform to the reference voice print data, the mobile phone enters a locked state. That is, no phone call could be made.
In this way, an authorized user whose biologic feature data has been registered is capable of using the mobile phone in the non-locked state of the phone. In contrast, an unauthorized user whose biologic feature data was not recorded cannot operate the phone as the phone enters a locked state. In other words, conventional user-verification conducted through a specific verifying procedure can be exempted from for an authorized user, while information can still be secured from an unauthorized user.
In the above embodiments associated with
For advanced security, the verifying procedures as illustrated in
The reference biologic feature data described above can be previously stored in the electronic device. Alternatively, the reference biologic feature data can also be previously stored in a remote device, e.g. a data server accessible via Internet. Then the reference biologic feature data can be acquired via Internet to be compared with.
Please refer to
In the embodiment as shown in
The determining module 31 and the control module 32 can be implemented with microprocessors or digital signal processors. While the user is conducting the input via the input module 30 with his finger, palm, eyeball or voice, the user's biologic feature data is captured at the same time. There is no need for the user to perform any additional user-verifying procedure to acquire the biologic feature data. With the comparison of the captured biologic feature data with the reference biologic feature data, whether the state should be changed or not can be determined. As for the operational details of the modules, they are appreciable from the associated steps described with reference to
Please refer to
The method for switching a locked state as described above can be executed in a variety of electronic device in a form of computer instructions. The computer instructions can be digital data recorded in a computer readable medium such as an optical disc, a memory card or a USB drive, and when executed by a processor in an electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations of: capturing a biologic feature data from a user while receiving an input from the user for an operation when the electronic device is in a locked state; determining whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and switching the electronic device from the locked state into a non-locked state and directly controlling the electronic device to perform the operation according to the input when the biologic feature data is determined conforming to the reference biologic feature data. Alternatively or additionally, The computer instructions, when executed by a processor in an electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations of: capturing a biologic feature data from a user while receiving an input from the user for an operation when the electronic device is in a non-locked state; determining whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and switching the electronic device from the non-locked state into a locked state and prohibiting the electronic device from performing the operation according to the input when the biologic feature data is not determined conforming to the reference biologic feature data.
It is understood from the foregoing that according to the present invention, an authorized user can be verified at the same time that an input from the user for an operation is conducted. Meanwhile, the user may normally operate the electronic device. On the contrary, an input from an unauthorized user for an operation cannot unlock the electronic device or will result in the switching from a non-locked state into a locked state of the electronic device. In this way, the electronic device is secured from an unauthorized user.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Claims
1. A verification method for use in an electronic device, the method comprising:
- (a) receiving a user input;
- (b) capturing a biologic feature data while receiving the user input; and
- (c) prohibiting the electronic device from performing an operation corresponding to the user input based on a determination that the biologic feature data does not conform to a reference biologic feature data.
2. The verification method of claim 1, further comprising executing an alternative user-verifying procedure based on the determination that the biologic feature data does not conform to the reference biologic feature data.
3. The verification method of claim 1, further comprising:
- (d) receiving another user input;
- (e) capturing another biologic feature data while receiving the another user input; and
- (f) performing the operation corresponding to the another user input based on another determination that the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
4. The verification method of claim 3, wherein:
- the step (d) includes receiving the another user input when the electronic device is in a locked state; and
- the verification method further comprises switching the electronic device from the locked state to a non-locked state based on the another determination that the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
5. The verification method of claim 1, wherein:
- the step (a) includes receiving the user input when the electronic device is in a non-locked state; and
- the verification method further comprises switching the electronic device from the non-locked state to a locked state based on the determination that the biologic feature data does not conform to the reference biologic feature data.
6. The verification method of claim 5, further comprising:
- (d) receiving another user input;
- (e) capturing another biologic feature data while receiving the another user input;
- (f) performing the operation corresponding to the another user input based on another determination that the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
7. The verification method of claim 6, wherein:
- the step (d) includes receiving the another user input when the electronic device is in a locked state; and
- the verification method further comprises switching the electronic device from the locked state to a non-locked state based on the another determination that the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
8. The verification method of claim 1, wherein the reference biologic feature data is stored in the electronic device or a remote device accessible by the electronic device.
9. An electronic device, comprising:
- an input module, configured to receive a user input and capture a biologic feature data while receiving the user input;
- a determining module, coupled to the input module, configured to determine whether the biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and
- a control module, coupled to the determining module, configured to prohibit the electronic device from performing an operation corresponding to the user input when the determining module determines the biologic feature data does not conform to the reference biologic feature data.
10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the control module is further configured to execute an alternative user-verifying procedure when the determining module determines the biologic feature data does not conform to the reference biologic feature data.
11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein:
- the input module is further configured to receive another user input and capture another biologic feature data while receiving the another user input;
- the determining module is further configured to determine whether the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data; and
- the control module is further configured to perform the operation corresponding to the another user input when the determining module determines the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein:
- the input module is configured to receive another user input when the electronic device is in a locked state; and
- the control module is further configured to switch the electronic device from the locked state to a non-locked state when the determining module determines the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
13. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein:
- the input module is configured to receive the user input when the electronic device is in a non-locked state; and
- the control module is further configured to switch the electronic device from the non-locked state to a locked state when the determining module determines the biologic feature data does not conform to the reference biologic feature data.
14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein:
- the input module is further configured to receive another user input and capture another biologic feature data while receiving the another user input;
- the determining module is further configured to determine whether the another biologic feature data conforms to a reference biologic feature data; and
- the control module is further configured to perform the operation corresponding to the another user input when the determining module determines the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein:
- the input module is configured to receive another user input when the electronic device is in a locked state;
- the control module is further configured to switch the electronic device from the locked state to a non-locked state when the determining module determines the another biologic feature data conforms to the reference biologic feature data.
16. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the input module comprises at least one of an optical sensor, a touch screen, and a microphone.
17. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the biologic feature data comprises at least one of fingerprint data, voiceprint data, speech contents data, palm print data, iris image data, and face configuration data.
18. A computer-readable non-transitory medium having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by a processor in an electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations of:
- receiving a user input;
- capturing a biologic feature data while receiving the user input; and
- prohibiting the electronic device from performing an operation corresponding to the user input based on a determination that the biologic feature data does not conform to a reference biologic feature data.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 15, 2014
Publication Date: Aug 14, 2014
Applicant: HTC Corporation (Taoyuan City)
Inventors: John C. WANG (Taoyuan City), Fu-Chiang CHOU (Taoyuan City)
Application Number: 14/253,662