Patent Issued for Efficient logon (USPTO 11294998): United Services Automobile Association

2022 APR 25 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Buckingham, Thomas Bret (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, US), Casillas, Debra Randall (Helotes, TX, US), Fernandez, Gabriel Carlos (San Antonio, TX, US), Mortensen, Maland Keith (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on May 8, 2020, was published online on April 5, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11294998 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “In the area of computer security, a login or logon refers to credentials necessary to obtain access to a computer system, enterprise service (e.g., e-mail, data management systems, etc.), or other restricted area. Logging in or on is the process by which individual access to a computer system is controlled by identifying and authenticating the user through the credentials presented by the user. In many cases, the user supplies a username and a password. Depending on the level of security to the restricted area, the user may be asked to provide additional information such as a birthdate.

“Once a user has logged in, the user can log off when the user no longer required access to the system. Each time a user returns, a subsequent log in may be necessary.

“The drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded or reduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, some components and/or operations may be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for the purposes of discussion of some of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, while the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Various embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to authentication. More specifically, some embodiments of the disclosure relate to efficient logon systems and methods. Historically, to logon to a system, enterprise service (e.g., e-mail, data management system, etc.), or other restricted website or device with a user account, such as an employee logging onto an enterprise computer system or a member of a membership organization logging onto the member’s account in the membership organization system, the user types in a username and a password. After verifying that the username and password match with previous recorded information, the user is authenticated and logged onto the system.

“The username/password process can be cumbersome, so much so that users sometimes fail to logoff or lock their computers while away from their computers, leaving the computer, system, and user account vulnerable to misuse by others. As a result, many companies automatically lock a computer and/or logoff the user after a period of inactivity to prevent unauthorized access.

“In contrast, some embodiments of the present disclosure include an efficient logon system that uses radio frequency identification (“RFID”), near-field communications (“NFC”), Bluetooth, or other short-range communications to detect that a user device is near an enterprise device (e.g., a computer, laptop, etc.), request additional authentication from the user and/or user device if desired, and log the user onto a computer system or other restricted area. In some embodiments, the user may provide information to validate the user (e.g., password), and the user device may provide information to validate the user device (e.g., digital certificate) prior to the user being logged on to the system. The requested information for authentication may include a personal identification number (“PIN”) or biometric information. Biometric information may include voice, fingerprint, retinal scan, behavioral biometrics (e.g., time between keystrokes, the intensity of the keystrokes, etc.). A quick-logon process (e.g., using a token and/or token generator, Public-Key Infrastructure (“PKI”) certificate or other digital certificate, or device fingerprint for user authentication, etc.) may be used in conjunction with the PIN, password, or biometric information.

“In addition, when the user device is out of the detectable range of the enterprise device, the enterprise device may automatically log off the user, or take another action (e.g., lock the computer) depending on the time of day (e.g., lunch time) or other factors. Similarly, the enterprise device may be able to access a user’s calendar to determine the appropriate action that should be taken. For example, if a calendar entry is present that indicates the user is out of the office for the rest of the day, the enterprise device may logoff the computer.

“In an example, the user may be an employee approaching his/her workstation at his/her place of employment. The user, having an RFID-enabled badge, proximity device, or other device capable of sending and/or receiving short range communications may walk up to, or within a detectable range of, an enterprise device such as the user’s computer workstation. The workstation may be capable of sending and/or receiving short range communications such that the workstation detects that the user is near the workstation. The user may be identified to the workstation based on the signals received by the workstation from the RFID-enabled badge, proximity device, or other user device.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method comprising: receiving, at a first device, a request for authentication information based on an authentication challenge indicated in a user profile associated with the first device; sending, to a second device, the authentication information; in response to the authentication information being verified, receiving an installation of a token generator on the first device; and sending a secure token and a time stamp associated with the secure token generated by the token generator to a server, wherein in response to an indication of validation of the secure token, access to one or more services via the second device is granted.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure token is a one-time token.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile further indicates access levels, wherein the authentication challenge is defined at least in part by the access levels.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication information includes: authentication information associated with a user associated with the first device and received from the user; and authentication information associated with the first device and received from the first device.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication information is received using one or more of a microphone, fingerprint scanner, camera, video camera, touch surface, keyboard, or motion sensor, wherein the authentication information includes at least one of biometric data, a password, a public key certification, or a personal identification number.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is enabled with short-range communication capabilities, wherein the first device is one of an identification card, tablet computer, personal device monitor, or mobile device, wherein the second device is one of an automated transaction machine (“ATM”), tablet computer, desktop computer, mobile device, or laptop computer.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication information is used to verify the secure token.

“8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or processors to perform a method comprising: receiving, at a first device, a request for authentication information based on an authentication challenge indicated in a user profile associated with the first device; sending, to a second device, the authentication information; in response to the authentication information being verified, receiving an installation of a token generator on the first device; and sending a secure token and a time stamp associated with the secure token generated by the token generator to a server, wherein in response to an indication of validation of the secure token, access to one or more services via the second device is granted.

“9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the secure token is a one-time token.

“10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the user profile further indicates access levels, wherein the authentication challenge is defined at least in part by the access levels.

“11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the authentication information includes: authentication information associated with a user associated with the first device and received from the user; and authentication information associated with the first device and received from the first device.

“12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the authentication information is received using one or more of a microphone, fingerprint scanner, camera, video camera, touch surface, keyboard, or motion sensor, wherein the authentication information includes at least one of biometric data, a password, a public key certification, or a personal identification number.

“13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the first device is enabled with short-range communication capabilities, wherein the first device is one of an identification card, tablet computer, personal device monitor, or mobile device, wherein the second device is one of an automated transaction machine (“ATM”), tablet computer, desktop computer, mobile device, or laptop computer.

“14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the authentication information is used to verify the secure token.

“15. A system comprising: one or more processors; and a computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising: receiving, at a first device, a request for authentication information based on an authentication challenge indicated in a user profile associated with the first device, sending, to a second device, the authentication information; in response to the authentication information being verified, receiving an installation of a token generator on the first device, and sending a secure token and a time stamp associated with the secure token generated by the token generator to a server, wherein in response to an indication of validation of the secure token, access to one or more services via the second device is granted.

“16. The system of claim 15, wherein the secure token is a one-time token, wherein the authentication information is used to verify the secure token.

“17. The system of claim 15, wherein the user profile further indicates access levels, wherein the authentication challenge is defined at least in part by the access levels.

“18. The system of claim 15, wherein the authentication information includes: authentication information associated with a user associated with the first device and received from the user; and authentication information associated with the first device and received from the first device.

“19. The system of claim 15, wherein the authentication information is received using one or more of a microphone, fingerprint scanner, camera, video camera, touch surface, keyboard, or motion sensor, wherein the authentication information includes at least one of biometric data, a password, a public key certification, or a personal identification number.

“20. The system of claim 15, wherein the first device is enabled with short-range communication capabilities, wherein the first device is one of an identification card, tablet computer, personal device monitor, or mobile device, wherein the second device is one of an automated transaction machine (“ATM”), tablet computer, desktop computer, mobile device, or laptop computer.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Buckingham, Thomas Bret. Efficient logon. U.S. Patent Number 11294998, filed May 8, 2020, and published online on April 5, 2022. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11294998.PN.&OS=PN/11294998RS=PN/11294998

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)