Patent Application Titled “Systems, Methods, And Apparatuses For Securely Authenticating Device Usage And Access” Published Online (USPTO 20220075860): Patent Application

2022 MAR 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventor Fujioka, Robb Takeshi (Manhattan Beach, CA, US), filed on September 30, 2021, was made available online on March 10, 2022.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Various devices offered in the marketplace are subject to age restrictions. For example, age restrictions may be applied to adult-oriented devices such with electronic cigarettes (or “e-cigarettes”), vaporizers, tobacco products, etc. Age restrictions may prohibit individuals under certain ages from purchasing, accessing, or using these devices. Likewise, age restrictions may be imposed on toys, electronic games, video games, and other devices that collect personal information concerning children. In certain cases, parental consent may be required before children are able to utilize such devices.

“The age restrictions imposed on products and services can vary across jurisdictions. In the United States, various federal and state laws prohibit sale or use of certain products to or by individuals under a certain age (e.g., under 18 or 21 years of age). In addition, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of websites or online services that collect personal information concerning children under 13 years of age. Similarly, Similarly, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) imposes certain restrictions on the collection of medical information from children and minors. Likewise, in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also imposes various restrictions on collecting child data and obtaining consent from parents. Failure to properly comply with the applicable age restrictions imposed by these and other legislative schemes can subject companies to liability and, in some cases, result in criminal penalties.

“Thus, needs exist for systems, methods, apparatuses, computer program products, and techniques associated with authenticating usage of, and access to, various target devices without the above mentioned and other disadvantages.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent application: “Provided herein are example embodiments of systems, methods, apparatuses, computer program products, and techniques associated with authenticating usage of, and access to, various target devices. In some embodiments, these systems, methods, apparatuses, computer program products, and techniques may be configured to facilitate compliance with age restrictions associated with the use or sale of certain devices and products. For example, the authentication systems may be configured to perform age verification functions that validate that individuals seeking to access, purchase, and/or use target devices are above a certain age, and/or that verify parental approval of underage individuals accessing, purchasing, and/or using the target devices. In certain embodiments, the authentication systems may control functions of the target devices (e.g., to activate/deactivate components and functions associated with such devices), e.g., based on whether or not the authentication and/or age verification requirements have been satisfied. The configurations and functionality of the authentication systems may vary based on the age restrictions that apply to such target devices and/or the configurations of the target devices.

“In some embodiments, the present disclosure may include a system for authenticating and controlling access and usage of a target device, comprising: a verification device coupled to the target device, the verification device comprises at least one or more controllers, one or more communication components and one or more device components; and wherein the verification device is configured to: pair with a mobile device coupled to the target device over a communication network; create an encrypted communication channel with the mobile device; synchronize with the mobile device using the encrypted communication channel; and enable the target device.

“In some embodiments, the target device is one of e-cigarette, e-vaporizer, IoT device, toy and medical device. In some embodiments, the device components may include at least one of sensors, heating elements, batteries, controllers, memory devices, transceiver devices, circuits, e-liquid cartridges, microphones, speakers, and input/output devices. In some embodiments, the sensors may include at least one of acoustic sensors, sound sensors, video sensors, touch sensors, magnetic contact sensors, heat sensors, gas sensors, smoke sensors, pressure sensors, infrared (IR) sensors, proximity sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, and imaging sensors.

“In some embodiments, the mobile device is in a predetermined proximity with the verification device for the pairing.

“In some embodiments, an application is located at the mobile device. The application may be configured to validate an age of a user and create an encrypted verification file in accordance with at least one predetermined requirement, including requirement of COPPA, HIPPA, GDPR, and PCI.

“Other features and advantages of the present invention are or will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description, which illustrate, by way of examples, the principles of the present invention.

“The systems, methods, and apparatuses for authenticating usage of, and access to, various target devices described herein in detail are only example embodiments and should not be considered limiting. Other configurations, methods, features and advantages of the subject matter described herein will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional configurations, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the subject matter described herein, and be protected by the accompanying claims. In no way should the features of the example embodiments be construed as limiting the appended claims, absent express recitation of those features in the claims.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A system for authenticating and controlling access and usage of a target device, comprising: a verification device coupled to the target device, the verification device comprises at least one or more controllers, one or more communication components and one or more device components; and wherein the verification device is configured to: pair with a mobile device coupled to the target device over a communication network; create an encrypted communication channel with the mobile device; synchronize with the mobile device using the encrypted communication channel; and enable the target device.

“2. The system of claim 1, wherein the target device is one of e-cigarette, e-vaporizer, IoT device, toy and medical device.

“3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more device components include at least one of sensors, heating elements, batteries, controllers, memory devices, transceiver devices, circuits, e-liquid cartridges, microphones, speakers, and input/output devices.

“4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one of sensors include at least one of acoustic sensors, sound sensors, video sensors, touch sensors, magnetic contact sensors, heat sensors, gas sensors, smoke sensors, pressure sensors, infrared (IR) sensors, proximity sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, and imaging sensors.

“5. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is in a predetermined proximity with the verification device for the pairing.

“6. The system of claim 1, wherein creating the encrypted communication channel includes broadcasting a second network.

“7. The system of claim 6, wherein the verification device is further configured to couple the target device to the second network.

“8. The system of claim 1, wherein the synchronizing includes receiving a synchronization signal from the mobile device.

“9. The system of claim 1 further includes an application located at the mobile device.

“10. The system of claim 9, wherein the application is configured to validate an age of a user.

“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the application is configured to create an encrypted verification file in accordance with at least one predetermined requirement.

“12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one predetermined requirement is one of COPPA, HIPPA, GDPR, and PCI.

“13. The system of claim 10, wherein the application is configured to send a synchronization signal to the verification device.

“14. The system of claim 1, wherein the enabling the target device includes activating one or more device components.

“15. A computer-based method for authenticating and controlling access and usage of a target device, comprising: pairing a mobile device to the target device; creating an encrypted communication channel between the target device and the mobile device; validating an age of a user; creating an encrypted verification file in accordance with at least one predetermined requirement; synchronizing the mobile device with the target device; and enabling one or more component devices coupled to the target device.

“16. The method of claim 15, wherein the target device is one of e-cigarette, e-vaporizer, IoT device, toy and medical device.

“17. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more device components include at least one of sensors, heating elements, batteries, controllers, memory devices, transceiver devices, circuits, e-liquid cartridges, microphones, speakers, and input/output devices.

“18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one of sensors include at least one of acoustic sensors, sound sensors, video sensors, touch sensors, magnetic contact sensors, heat sensors, gas sensors, smoke sensors, pressure sensors, infrared (IR) sensors, proximity sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, and imaging sensors.

“19. The method of claim 15, wherein the mobile device is in a predetermined proximity with the target device for the pairing.

“20. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one predetermined requirement is one of COPPA, HIPPA, GDPR, and PCI.”

For more information, see this patent application: Fujioka, Robb Takeshi. Systems, Methods, And Apparatuses For Securely Authenticating Device Usage And Access. Filed September 30, 2021 and posted March 10, 2022. Patent URL: https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220220075860%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220075860&RS=DN/20220075860

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