Patent Application
20080065897
Novel features believed characteristic of the present disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, various objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The functionality of various circuits, devices, boards, cards, modules, blocks, and/or components described herein may be implemented as hardware (including discrete components, integrated circuits and systems-on-a-chip ‘SOC’), firmware (including application specific integrated circuits and programmable chips) and/or software or a combination thereof, depending on the application requirements. Similarly, the functionality of various mechanical elements, members, and/or components for forming modules, sub-assemblies and assemblies assembled in accordance with a structure for an apparatus may be implemented using various materials and coupling techniques, depending on the application requirements.
As described earlier, many of the traditional techniques for preventing theft and unauthorized use of valuable portable property such as a portable projector often result in reduced portability, and/or increased complexity for the user, thereby degrading the user experience in using the portable devices. In addition, many of these techniques are often bypassed by hackers/thieves. Therefore, a need exists for retaining the portability and mobility features of a portable projector, while enhancing its security, and ease of use features. According to one embodiment, a first input is received to determine whether a security feature is enabled. A second input is received from a sensor to determine a presence of a physical lock for securing the portable device. A prompt for a password is output in response to determining an absence of the physical lock. A third input is received to verify the password. Upon verifying the password, the portable device is enabled, otherwise it is disabled. The prompt for the password is bypassed and the portable device is enabled if the physical lock is present.
For purposes of this disclosure, an IHS may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. For example, the IHS may be a personal computer, including notebook computers, personal digital assistants, cellular phones, gaming consoles, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The IHS may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, read only memory (ROM), and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the IHS may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various I/O devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The IHS may also include one or more buses operable to receive/transmit communications between the various hardware components.
The IHS 100 may also include a non-volatile ROM 122 memory, an I/O controller 140 for controlling various other I/O devices. For example, the I/O controller 140 may include a serial, and/or parallel I/O bus controller. It should be understood that the term “information handling system” is intended to encompass any device having a processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.
The IHS 100 is shown to include the mass storage device 130 connected to the processor 110, although some embodiments may not include the mass storage device 130. In a particular embodiment, the IHS 100 may include additional hard disks. The bus 150 may include data, address and control lines. In an exemplary, non-depicted embodiment, not all devices shown may be directly coupled to the bus 150. In one embodiment, the IHS 100 may include multiple instances of the bus 150. The multiple instances of the bus 150 may be in compliance with one or more proprietary standards and/or one or more industry standards such as peripheral component interconnect (PCI), PCI express (PCIe), industry standard architecture (ISA), universal serial bus (USB), system management bus (SMBus), and similar others. A communications device 145, such as a network interface card and/or a radio device, may be connected to the bus 150 to enable wired and/or wireless information exchange between the IHS 100 and other devices (not shown).
In an embodiment, the display device 108 is a portable device such as a portable projector operable to project one or more displays 162 on a screen 170. In an exemplary, non-depicted embodiment, the display device 108 may be secured to a secure object by using a physical lock. Examples of a secure object may include an office desk or similar other object that may be difficult to move outside a restricted area. The physical lock provides a secured coupling between the portable device and the secured object. Additional detail of the operation of the portable projector is described with reference to
The processor 110 is operable to execute the instructions and/or operations of the IHS 100. The memory medium, e.g., RAM 120, preferably stores instructions (also known as a “software program”) for implementing various embodiments of a method in accordance with the present disclosure. An operating system (OS) (not shown) of the IHS 100 is a type of software program that controls execution of other software programs, referred to as application software programs. An example of an application program may include a program to display an image onto the screen 170. In various embodiments the instructions and/or software programs may be implemented in various ways, including procedure-based techniques, component-based techniques, and/or object-oriented techniques, among others. Specific examples include assembler, C, XML, C++ objects, Java and Microsoft's .NET technology.
In the depicted embodiment, the display engine 210 is configurable to be enabled or disabled responsive to a control signal 212 received from a security system 220 that provides improved security. The security system 220 is also configurable to be enabled or disabled. When the security system 220 is disabled, the control signal 212 is also disabled and the display engine 210 is configured to generate the image data output 204 in response to the image data input 202. When the security system 220 is enabled, the control signal 212 may determine whether the display engine 210 is enabled or disabled.
In an embodiment, the portable projector 200 may be operable as a standalone device that provides the image data output 204 with or without receiving the image data input 202. For example, during initial setup or configuration of the portable projector 200, the display engine 210 may automatically provide the image data output 204 as an initial default display to configure the portable projector 200 even though the portable projector 200 is not coupled to receive the image data input 202.
In the depicted embodiment, the security system 220 is operable to receive a first input 230 indicative of a enable or disable status of the security system 220 from a security enabler 232, a second input 240 indicative of a presence or absence of a physical lock 260 for securing the portable projector 200 from a sensor 208, and a third input 250 indicative of a password verification status received from a password handler 270. The security system 220 is operable to provide the control signal 212 in response to receiving the first, second, and third inputs 230, 240, and 250. In an embodiment, the enable or disable status of the security system 220 is configured and stored in the security enabler 232, which may be stored in non-volatile memory (not shown) of the portable projector 200.
The physical lock 260 includes a plastic coated metal cable 262 having a lock 264 (e.g., may be a combination or key lock) attached to one end, with the other end formed into a loop (not shown). The lock end of the cable 262 is threaded through the loop and through a secure object (not shown) such as an office table or similar other object that may be difficult to move outside a restricted area. In a particular embodiment, the secure object is a movable cart that may be moved from one location to another within a secured building or facility. The lock end of the cable 262 has a prong 266 that may be inserted into a security slot 206 of the portable projector 200 and locked to secure the portable projector 200 to the secure object. The prong 266 may not be removed from the security slot 206 when the lock 264 is in a locked position, whereas the prong 266 may be easily removed from the security slot 206 when the lock 264 is in an unlocked position.
In the depicted embodiment, the portable projector 200 includes the sensor 208, which may be located within the security slot 206. In an embodiment, the sensor 208 is operable to detect a presence or an absence of the physical lock 260 by detecting a presence or absence of the prong 266. The security system 220 receives the second input 240 from the sensor 208, the second input 240 being indicative of a presence or an absence of the physical lock 260. An absence of the physical lock status when power is initially provided to the portable projector 200 is stored in non-volatile memory and may be cleared only when a proper password is provided. This technique advantageously excludes hackers and/or thieves from inserting a fake prong into the security slot 206 to simulate a presence of the physical lock 260.
The password handler 270 is coupled to a keyboard 222 of the portable projector 200. A user (not shown), when prompted, may provide a password input by using the keyboard 222 and/or a remote wireless keypad 224. In a particular embodiment, the password is an N-digit integer number that is stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the portable projector 200 as an encrypted or non-encrypted value. The user may change the password from a default value to a user-defined value. The password handler 270 is operable to verify and/or authenticate a password provided by the user and provide the third input 250 that is indicative of a verified or non-verified status of the password. In the event, the password provided by the user is not valid, and/or is not verifiable, the security system 220 disables the display engine 210 via the control signal 212.
In a particular embodiment, user experience is improved by making the security monitoring features transparent to the user until there is a potential violation of security. Thus, the user may be prompted for the password only when the security system 220 is enabled and the sensor 208 detects an absence of the physical lock 260, indicative of the potential violation of security. When such a potential violation of security is detected, the user is advised of the potential breach in security of the portable projector 200, and prompted to input the password by projecting an advisory display (not shown) on the screen 170.
In the event a user forgets or misplaces the password, the user may contact factory service via telephone and/or web to authenticate user identity, provide a serial number of device, and obtain a new password. In an embodiment, an express service code number and/or a serial number of the portable device may be used to algorithmically and automatically generate another password that the portable device is configured to recognize as valid.
Various steps described above may be added, omitted, combined, altered, or performed in different orders. For example, steps 340, and 350 may be bypassed after step 330, in response to determining that the physical lock is present.
Several advantages are achieved according to the illustrative embodiments presented herein. The embodiments advantageously provide an improved user experience while providing improved security for the portable projector. The improved security features may be configured to be selectively enabled or disabled. The user experience is improved since the user may not have to provide a password as long as the integrity of the physical lock remains unchanged. The user may be prompted for the password only when the physical lock has been detected to be absent or removed. Portable projectors may be advantageously secured to mobile carts that may be moved from one location to another, thus preserving the portability of the portable projector while enhancing the security. In the event the portable projector is stolen or removed from the mobile cart, unauthorized use of the portable projector is substantially reduced by disabling the portable projector when the password is unable to be verified.
Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, a wide range of modification, change and substitution is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances, some features of the embodiments may be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein.
