KR20150029251A - Method for securing object of electronic device and the electronic device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of operating an electronic device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, comprises: displaying, or making accessible, one or more objects on the display by an electronic device including a display; Receiving, by the electronic device, biometric information, with the object being visible or accessible; And responsive to receipt of the biometric information, displaying on the display displayable or accessible additional objects of the same type as the one or more objects, The access is limited before receiving the biometric information. According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide more enhanced security for various objects related to personal information in the electronic device by determining whether to restrict access to the storage area of the personal information based on the biometric information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for securing an object in an electronic device,

The present invention relates to a method for securing an object in an electronic device using biometric information, and an electronic device therefor.

In recent years, in addition to a simple communication function, electronic devices including more various functions such as, for example, photographing or movie shooting, Internet communication and the like have been developed. As such electronic devices include various functions, personal information security is becoming more important. Especially, it is very important to secure personal information in electronic devices including functions that can cause very serious damage when used by others, such as financial settlement using the Internet.

To this end, electronic devices have recently been equipped with various methods of input device lock / unlock functions to limit their use by other users.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] In the related art, a method for providing a security solution through patterns, passwords, and the like has been disclosed as an example of a method for securing an electronic device. However, when a password is exposed to a third party, the need for user authentication of an electronic device that can prevent a third party from being hijacked and which is simple to implement is required. In addition, when an electronic device is used by another user due to a situation such as a user losing or lending an electronic device, a large number of personal information related to the user of the electronic device may be exposed to other users.

As described above, the security problem of electronic devices is a big issue, and although a method of providing a security solution through a locking method has been partially disclosed, a solution capable of providing security and convenience is not provided have.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a security apparatus and method using biometric information that can guarantee security and convenience.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus and method for securing an object in an electronic device using biometric information in order to protect privacy of a user by limiting display of personal information stored in the electronic device and improving convenience .

A method of operating an electronic device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, comprises: displaying, or making accessible, one or more objects on the display by an electronic device including a display; Receiving, by the electronic device, biometric information, with the object being visible or accessible; And responsive to receipt of the biometric information, displaying on the display displayable or accessible additional objects of the same type as the one or more objects, The access is limited before receiving the biometric information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device comprising: a display; And a processor, wherein the processor is configured to display or access one or more objects on the display; Configured to receive biometric information by the electronic device, with the object being visible or accessible; Wherein in response to receiving the biometric information, the display is configured to be capable of displaying or accessing additional objects of the same type as the one or more objects, And access is restricted before reception.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for securing an object of an electronic device, the method comprising: acquiring biometric information; authenticating the acquired biometric information; Selecting at least one object of the plurality of objects; and securing the selected at least one object.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device for securing an object, comprising: a sensor module for acquiring biometric information; a storage unit for storing reference biometric information for authenticating the acquired biometric information; Wherein the biometric information input unit is configured to authenticate the input biometric information using the reference biometric information when the biometric information is input through the sensor module, and when the biometric information is authenticated, And a control unit for identifying at least one object selected by the security setting and securing the identified at least one object.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a security method using biometric information that can guarantee security and convenience and an electronic device implementing the security method are provided.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide more enhanced security for various objects related to personal information in the electronic device by determining whether to restrict access to the storage area of the personal information based on the biometric information.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a front perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
3 is a block diagram showing a biometric information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4A illustrates a structure of a security box according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
4B to 4D are views illustrating a structure for protecting an object of a security box according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an object security process using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
6A to 6E are diagrams for explaining an object security process using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of releasing an object using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
8A to 8F are diagrams for explaining an object releasing process using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 9A to 13B are diagrams for explaining a security process and a security release process for various objects according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain features, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with one embodiment. It should also be understood that the position or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which the claims are entitled, if properly explained. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several views.

Terms including ordinals, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited to these terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

The terms used in the present invention, on the other hand, are used only to illustrate specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the terms "comprises" or "having ", and the like in the specification are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, But do not preclude the presence or addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be interpreted as ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present invention Should not.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device may be any device having a touch screen, and may be called a portable terminal, a mobile terminal, a communication terminal, a portable communication terminal, a portable mobile terminal, or the like. For example, the electronic device may be a smart phone, a mobile phone, a game machine, a television (TV), a display device, a car head unit, a notebook computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a Personal Media Player (PMP) ), A navigation device, a bank ATM, a POS device in a store, and the like. Further, the electronic device in the present invention may be a flexible device or a flexible display device.

A typical configuration of such an electronic device is for a cellular phone, and in a typical configuration of such an electronic device, some of the components may be omitted or changed as needed.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 100 includes a touch screen 190 and at least one touch screen controller 195. Here, as an example of the display unit and the display controller, the touch screen 190 and the touch screen controller 195 will be described as examples of the present invention. The electronic device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication module 120, a camera module 150, an input / output module 160, a sensor module 170, a storage unit 175, and a power supply unit 180. [ .

First, the control unit 110 may include a bus for information communication and a processor connected to the bus for information processing. (E.g., a random access memory (RAM)) coupled to the bus to store information required by the processor. The second memory may be used to store temporal information required by the processor. The electronic device 100 may further include a read only memory (ROM) connected to the bus for storing static information required by the processor.

The control unit 110 controls the overall operation of the electronic device 100 as a central processing unit and performs an operation according to a method for securing an object in the electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the controller 110 controls the function of the electronic device 100 using the biometric information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The controller 110 may be configured to display and / or access one or more objects on the touch screen 190 and to receive biometric information on the touch screen 190 in response to receiving the biometric information. To display or access additional objects of the same type as the one or more objects. At this time, the additional object is limited in access before receiving the biometric information.

Specifically, when the user's biometric information is input, the controller 110 compares the biometric information with previously stored biometric information to perform authentication. When the user authentication is successful, the controller 110 accesses all functions and personal information of the electronic device 100 And controls the electronic device 100 to operate in a general mode for restricting access to some functions or personal information of the electronic device 100 when the authentication is not successful.

In order to authenticate the inputted biometric information, the control unit 110 receives the biometric information of the user, which is a criterion for user authentication, and registers the biometric information in the storage unit 175 in advance. In addition, the control unit 110 selects objects to be restricted in the normal mode and stores them in the storage unit 175 before operating in the security mode through authentication of the biometric information. Examples of the object whose access by another person is blocked in the normal mode include a function or information related to the privacy of the user. The objects to be secured according to the embodiment of the present invention include shortcut icons, contents, Various visual objects such as messages, contacts, call history, Social Network Service contents, widgets, icons representing documents in various file formats, pictures, music files, text and folders, Or may include some visual objects selected therefrom, and refers to various information stored in digital form in the electronic device 100. The applications may be stored in the electronic device 100 as executable applications in the electronic device 100, or may be downloaded to the electronic device 100 from an external application-providing web server. In addition, the objects may be formed and displayed by an icon, a button, or the like made up of an image, a text, a photograph, or a combination thereof.

The control unit 110 controls not to display on the screen after the object whose access is restricted is set. Alternatively, it is possible to prevent any operation from being performed on an object in which user input such as a touch input occurs.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the function or personal information of the object secured by the user, for example, the electronic device 100 can be accessed through biometric information authentication, .

The communication module 120 is provided for direct connection with an external device or for connection via a network and may be a wired or wireless communication unit and includes the control unit 110, the storage unit 175, the camera module 150, And transmits the data from the external communication line or the air to the control unit 110 or stores the data in the storage unit 175. [ The communication module 120 may include at least one of a mobile communication module, a wireless LAN module, and a local communication module.

The control unit 110 may communicate with an external device through the communication module 120 or may perform an operation through interlocking with an external device. For example, the control unit 110 may permit access to an external device or access to internal data through an exchange of biometric information or an authentication procedure through one-way transmission or reception. Such an electronic device 100 may operate under the control of an external device, and control by such external device may be implemented in various ways.

The camera module 150 may include two or more cameras for capturing a still image or a moving image under the control of the controller 110. The camera module 150 can output an image of biometric information necessary for recognizing the biometric information, such as a fingerprint, a hand bar, and a finger wrinkle.

The input / output module 160 may include at least one of a plurality of buttons, a microphone, a speaker, and a connector in addition to the keypad 166.

The keypad 166 may receive key input from a user for control of the electronic device 100. The keypad 166 includes a physical keypad (not shown) formed on the electronic device 100 or a virtual keypad (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 190. The physical keypad formed on the electronic device 100 may be excluded depending on the performance or structure of the electronic device 100.

The sensor module 170 includes at least one sensor that detects the condition of the electronic device 100 and the situation around the electronic device 100. [ For example, the sensor module 170 may include a proximity sensor that detects whether the user is accessing the electronic device 100, an ambient light sensor (not shown) that detects the amount of light around the electronic device 100, A motion sensor (not shown) that detects the motion of device 100 (e.g., rotation of electronic device 100, acceleration or vibration of electronic device 100) A geomagnetic sensor for detecting the point of the compass, a gravity sensor for detecting the direction of action of gravity, an altimeter for detecting the altitude by measuring the atmospheric pressure, a GPS module And at least one of the sensors.

The sensor module 170 may further include a fingerprint sensor 170a. The fingerprint sensor 170a generates biometric information corresponding to a pattern such as a fingerprint, a finger joint, a finger joint wrinkle, a finger wrinkle, etc., when the user's finger or a hand touches the surface thereof. In addition, the fingerprint sensor 170a may have a switch structure and generate push-detection data according to a user's depression. The fingerprint sensor 170a outputs the generated biometric information and / or press detection data to the control unit 110. [ For example, the fingerprint sensor 170a generates an excitation signal and generates a response signal due to the excitation signal as a conductive finger of the user touches the surface of the fingerprint sensor 170a using the pixel antenna array. The biometric information can be generated.

The fingerprint sensor 170a may be implemented by various types of fingerprint sensors such as an optical type, an electro-optic type, an ultrasonic type, a pressure type, and a capacitive type.

In addition, when a large area contact such as a palm wrinkle is required in addition to the user's finger, the touch screen 190 can be realized to have a structure capable of fingerprint recognition. When the touch screen 190 is used to register the biometric information, the user touches the surface of the palm itself to make a fingerprint, A finger nodule shape, a finger nodule wrinkle, a palm wrinkle, and the like can be registered. Alternatively, a specific area may be set as an area for fingerprint recognition instead of the entire area of the touch screen 190.

Other examples of the biometric information are all including personal characteristics such as iris, sweat gland structure, and finger vein pattern information as well as behavioral traits such as signature, voice, and gait. In this case, the sensor module 170 may further include an IR sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a Hall sensor, and the like.

Accordingly, the controller 110 can recognize a unique pattern such as a fingerprint of a finger, a wrinkle of a finger, a finger wrinkle, etc. based on the biometric information received from the fingerprint sensor 170a, And performs authentication in the security mode or the normal mode.

The storage unit 175 stores the input data in accordance with the operation of the communication module 120, the camera module 150, the input / output module 160, the sensor module 170 or the touch screen 190 under the control of the controller 110 / Output signal or data can be stored. The storage unit 175 may store control programs and applications for controlling the electronic device 100 or the control unit 110. [

The term " storage unit " refers to any data storage device, such as a storage unit 175, a ROM in the control unit 110, a RAM or a memory card (e.g., SD card, memory stick) As used herein. The storage unit 175 may include a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD).

The storage unit 175 may also store images, user information, documents, databases or data associated with a method for processing touch inputs to provide various functional applications and associated graphical user interface (GUI) (Menu screen, idle screen, etc.) or operating programs necessary for driving the electronic device 100, images photographed by the camera module 150, and the like.

The storage unit 175 is a medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer), and the term machine-readable medium is defined as a medium that provides data to the machine so that the machine can perform a specific function . The storage unit 175 may include non-volatile media and volatile media. All such media must be of a type such that the commands conveyed by the medium can be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the commands into the machine.

The machine-readable medium includes, but is not limited to, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) At least one of a punch card, a paper tape, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), and a flash-EPROM .

The power supply unit 180 may supply power to one or a plurality of batteries disposed in the housing of the electronic device 100 under the control of the controller 110. One or more batteries supply power to the electronic device 100. Also, the power supply unit 180 may supply the power input from the external power source to the electronic device 100 through the wired cable connected to the connector. In addition, the power supply unit 180 may supply power to the electronic device 100 wirelessly input from an external power source through a wireless charging technique.

The electronic device 100 may then include at least one touch screen 190 that provides a user graphical interface corresponding to various services (e.g., call, data transfer, broadcast, photo taking) to the user.

The touch screen 190 may include a display panel that performs a display function for output information output from the electronic device 100, and an input panel that performs various input functions by a user. The display panel may be a panel such as LCD, AMOLED, and the like.

The display panel can display various screens according to various operating states of the electronic device 100, application execution, services, and the like. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel may display at least some objects including security-enabled objects in the security mode, and may display objects other than the security-enabled objects in the normal mode.

The input panel may be realized by at least one panel capable of sensing various inputs such as a single or multi-touch input, a drag input, a handwriting input, and a drawing input of a user using various objects such as a finger and a pen. For example, the input panel may be implemented using one panel capable of both finger input sensing and pen input sensing, or may be implemented using two panels, such as a touch recognition module capable of finger input sensing and a pen recognition module capable of sensing pen input . ≪ / RTI >

The touch screen 190 may output a signal corresponding to at least one user input to the user graphic interface to the touch screen controller 195. The touch screen 190 may receive at least one user input through the user's body (e.g., a finger including an index finger). The touch screen 190 may receive a continuous movement of one touch. The touch screen 190 may output an analog signal corresponding to a continuous movement of the input touch to the touch screen controller 195.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the touch is not limited to the touch with the touch screen 190 and the user input means such as a finger, but may be a contactless touch (e.g., (For example, when the user input means is located within a recognition distance (for example, 1 cm)). The distance or interval at which the user input means can be recognized on the touch screen 190 may vary depending on the performance or structure of the electronic device 100 and in particular the touch screen 190 may be directly A value detected by the direct touch event and the hovering event (for example, an analog value including a voltage value or a current value) is output differently so that the touch event and the indirect touch event (i.e., hovering event) Or < / RTI >

The touch screen 190 may be implemented by, for example, a capacitive method, an infrared method, an acoustic wave method, or a combination thereof.

The touch screen controller 195 converts a signal input from the touch screen 190 into a digital signal and transmits the digital signal to the controller 110. The control unit 110 may control the user interface displayed on the touch screen 190 using the digital signal received from the touch screen controller 195. For example, the control unit 110 may cause a shortcut icon (not shown) or an object displayed on the touch screen 190 to be selected or executed in response to a direct touch event or a hovering event. In addition, the touch screen controller 195 may be integrated into the control unit 110. [

The touch screen controller 195 detects a value (e.g., a current value) output through the touch screen 190 to confirm a hovering interval or a distance as well as a user input position, , Z coordinate), and provides it to the control unit 110. The control unit 110 may detect various user inputs received through the camera module 150, the input / output module 160, and the sensor module 170 as well as the touch screen 190. The user input may include various types of information input into the apparatus 100 such as a gesture, a voice, a pupil movement, a living body signal, etc. of the user. The control unit 110 may control the predetermined operation or function corresponding to the detected user input to be performed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, each functional unit and module may mean a functional and structural combination of hardware for performing the technical idea of the embodiment of the present invention and software for driving the hardware. For example, each functional unit may refer to a logical unit of a predetermined code and a hardware resource for executing the predetermined code, and may be a code physically connected to the functional unit, But can be easily deduced to the average expert in the field of embodiments of the invention.

2 is a front perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a touch screen 190 disposed at the center of the front surface 100a of the electronic device 100 and a fingerprint sensor 170a disposed under the touch screen 190 are illustrated. The fingerprint sensor 170a may be configured to perform a fingerprint recognition function, a function of a home button ordinarily provided in the electronic device 100, and a direction key function. Alternatively, a separate home button may be disposed above, below, or beside the fingerprint sensor 170a. Alternatively, a specific area of the touch screen 190 may be used as a fingerprint sensor.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which a lock screen is displayed on the touch screen 190. The lock screen is a first screen displayed on the touch screen 190 when the electronic device 100 is turned on and inputs security information (e.g., biometric information) set by the user to the electronic device 100 It is a screen that provides an accessible environment. Accordingly, after checking the validity of the security information (e.g., biometric information, etc.) confirmed by the user input through the fingerprint sensor 170a, the controller 110 proceeds to release the lock screen to switch to the home screen .

3 is a block diagram illustrating a security processing apparatus using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the security processing apparatus includes a preprocessing unit 300, a biometric information registration unit 310, a biometric information storage unit 320, a biometric information analysis unit 330, an authentication result processing unit 340, And a storage unit 350.

The preprocessor 300 performs preprocessing such as division, rotation, and size adjustment when biometric information such as a user's finger touching the fingerprint sensor 170a or the touch screen 190 is input.

The biometric information registration unit 310 performs an operation for registering the biometric information with respect to the user and stores the characteristic values of the attribute information used for the authentication of the biometric information in the biometric information storage unit 320. [ The biometric information registration unit 310 can guide the user to input biometric information such as a fingerprint at the time of registration. To this end, a window for guiding the registration of biometric information can be displayed on the touch screen 190. Thus, a predetermined marker such as a hand shape or a finger shape is displayed on the touch screen 190, You can guide them to do. At this time, by displaying the registration validity time on the touch screen 190, the user can encourage the registration of the biometric information.

The biometric information storage unit 320 stores biometric information registered by the biometric information registration unit 310. The biometric information storage unit 320 stores biometric information registered by the biometric information registration unit 310. For example, the biometric information storage unit 320 stores information on finger vein patterns, Information such as information, biological blood flow, and the like can also be stored.

The biometric information analyzing unit 330 analyzes the inputted biometric information. For example, characteristic values of the biometric information can be analyzed to identify which biometric information the biometric information corresponds to. The biometric information analysis unit 330 may perform authentication of the biometric information based on the reference biometric information of the user stored in the biometric information storage unit 320.

The authentication result processing unit 340 performs an operation according to the success or failure of the biometric information authentication in the biometric information analysis unit 330. [ If the authentication is successful, at least one object may be moved from the general area in the security attribute information storage unit 350 to the security area and stored.

Otherwise, if the authentication is successful, the security attribute for the at least one object stored in the security attribute information storage unit 350 may be changed and stored. For example, after the authentication is successful, the authentication result processing unit 340 may select the object to be secured and store the security setting information in the attribute information about the selected object in the security attribute information storage unit 350. [ On the other hand, if the object to be unlocked is selected after successful authentication, the security attribute information storing unit 350 may store the unlock information in the attribute information of the selected object.

Meanwhile, the structure in the security attribute information storage unit 350 according to the embodiment of the present invention for moving from the general domain to the security domain for object security may be implemented as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D.

4A illustrates a structure of a security box according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, a system area 400 in which a user's access is blocked and a user area 410 in which a user can access are illustrated in FIG. . Herein, the system area 400 is an area accessible by a maker, a business operator, or the like, which is blocked by a general user and has administrator authority, and the user area 410 is a region in which the user of the electronic device 100 can access the electronic device 100 And the information added / created in the normal mode is stored in the user area 410. In addition,

Also, the security boxes 420 and 430 may be implemented in the system area 400 and the user area 410, respectively, as shown in FIG. 4A. Objects whose security settings are selected by the user when the user's biometric information is authenticated may be stored in the security box 430 in the user area 410 or in the security box 420 in the system area 400. [ In contrast, objects for which the security release is selected by the user may be moved from the security box 420 or 430 to a position corresponding to the path specified by the user, for example, a specific folder in the user area 410 in FIG. 4A .

The folders of these secure boxes 420 and 430 may be logically connected to one another and may be accessed by the user when accessing the secure box 420 of the system area 400, Can be implemented. According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to access a part of the system area 400, that is, the security box 420, as if granting a part of administrator authority through fingerprint authentication, It has the effect of blocking the access.

 Meanwhile, FIG. 4B illustrates a structure for object protection of a security box. 4B, a folder of the security box 430 of the user area 410 may mount a folder of the security box 420 of the system area 400. [ At this time, the folder of the secure box 420 of the system area 400 can be protected through the encrypted file system 440. With respect to the objects whose security settings are selected through the encryption file system 440, the objects are moved from the security box 430 of the user area 410 to the security box 420 of the system area 400, The access to the security box 420 of the system area 400 can be blocked by unmounting the security box 430 of the system area 400. [

4C illustrates a structure for protecting an object of a security box. As shown in FIG. 4C, when it is desired to protect a specific object of the user area 410, for example, contents, a specific content can be encrypted using an encryption module have. In this case, since the object is stored after being encrypted in the user area 410, it is possible to protect specific contents without accessing the system area. Accordingly, when a specific content is secured, the specific content can be encrypted and stored when moving to a specific folder in the user area 410. On the contrary, when unsecured is selected and moved to a general folder, unencrypted plain content Plain contents.

In FIG. 4D, a specific content is encrypted and stored using an encryption module as shown in FIG. 4C. 4C, the security box 430 of the user area 410 may be implemented to point to the security box 420 of the system area 400. As shown in FIG. At this time, the contents of the security box 420 of the system area 400 may be encrypted and stored through the encryption module. Accordingly, when the user sets security for a specific content, the content is encrypted when moving to the security box 430 of the user area 410, and then moved to the security box 420 of the system area 400. Conversely, when the security release is set, the content moves from the security box 420 of the system area 400 to the security box 430 of the user area 410. At this time, the content can be converted into general contents before being encrypted through the decryption module. In this way, when the user moves the specific content to the security box 430 of the user area 410 through the corresponding system, the user can move the encrypted content to the system area 420 after encryption. If the user again switches to the normal mode, Can be changed to unencrypted plain contents.

At this time, it is possible to move between the general area and the security area of a plurality of contents using the relation setting between a plurality of contents. For example, if A2 and A3 contents are set as A1 and related contents, A2 and A3 contents can be automatically moved to the security area when moving A1 contents to the security area. For example, if a user wishes to move a picture taken with A to a security zone while the user is traveling, the user can select one picture of A as a representative, and the remaining pictures taken of A may also be moved to the security zone .

5 is a flowchart illustrating an object security process using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention. The above method is performed by the control unit 110 or by the bio-information analysis unit 330 or by the control unit 110 controlling other components.

In step 500, the electronic device 100 requests biometric information input. For example, the electronic device 100 displays a window for guiding the user to input a fingerprint, and when the user inputs a fingerprint to the fingerprint sensor 170a, the electronic device 100 can notify that the fingerprint input has been completed. In step 505, the electronic device 100 recognizes the input biometric information through operations such as extracting minutiae from the input biometric information. In step 510, it is determined whether the input biometric information matches previously stored reference biometric information. At this time, if the result of calculating the comparison result between the inputted biometric information and the stored reference biometric information is smaller than the allowable threshold value, it can be determined that the biometric information authentication is successful. Accordingly, the electronic device 100 can output that the input biometric information matches the previously stored reference biometric information.

As a result of the authentication, if the authentication fails, the electronic device 100 notifies the authentication failure in step 515. [ Otherwise, if the authentication is successful, it is determined in step 520 whether at least one object is selected. If at least one object is selected, the electronic device 100 changes the security attribute information of the selected object in step 525 and stores the modified security attribute information.

For example, FIG. 6A illustrates a screen 600 for inputting fingerprint information. When a fingerprint is input from a user (605), a screen is displayed in which object items are displayed in the form of images or a folder (610) may be displayed. Here, the display of the menus related to the movement to the security box may be displayed when the user's fingerprint information is authenticated.

Accordingly, the user can select at least one object to be secured using check boxes 615 and 620 as shown in FIG. 6B. Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, the user can move the check boxes 630 and 635 to the security box using the checked menu items 625 in the move menu. 6D, the objects 640 and 645 to be secured are moved to the security box so that the objects 640 and 645 are prevented from being displayed on the screen or prevented from being displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. 6E, Respectively. For example, when accessing in security mode, only previewing is possible and editing is not executed.

In this case, when the security for the secured objects 640 and 645 is released through the biometric information authentication, the location of the secured objects 650, and 655 may be stored. In other words, the position information between the album 3 folder and the album 4 folder in FIG. 6E can be stored for the object 640 in FIG. 6D, and the object 645 in FIG. 6D can be stored in the album 5 folder Location information such as the following may be stored.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an object security cancellation process using biometric information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, steps 700 to 715 are the same as those in steps 500 to 510 of FIG. 5, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. If the authentication is successful, the electronic device 100 operates in the secure mode in step 715 and displays the entire object list together with the secured object in step 720. [ Then, the electronic device 100 determines in step 725 whether an object to be unsecured is selected. If an object to be unsecured is selected, the security attribute information for the selected object is changed and stored in step 730. Accordingly, the unsecured objects can be moved from the security box to the folder corresponding to the general area.

8A illustrates a case where secured albums 800 and 805 are displayed together with unsecured albums in an album application screen when biometric information authentication is successful according to an embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8B, if the authentication is successful, only a screen for displaying security-off objects may be displayed, and the user may select an album folder to be unsecured using the check box 810. [ When the remove box menu 820 is selected with the check box 815 of the album folder to be unsecured as shown in FIG. 8C, the album folder 815 is moved to the general area. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8D, a list of routes through which the album to be unsecured can be restored can be displayed. Here, the path list is a list of target folders to which the album to be unsecured can be moved. Accordingly, the user can specify that the album to be unsecured is restored and displayed at a desired position.

If one of the paths 820 is designated as shown in FIG. 8D, the album can be displayed at a position corresponding to the designated path. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8E, . 8C, since the security of the album 7 folder is still secured, the album 7 folder 825 is displayed as shown in FIG. 8E while the security mode is maintained. However, The biometric information is input to the normal mode and the display of the album 7 folder 830 is hidden as shown in FIG. 8F.

FIG. 9A illustrates a screen 900 when fingerprint information is not recognized. When fingerprint information is input and authentication is successful, objects 905, 910, and 915 that were not displayed as shown in FIG. 9B are displayed. If there is a selection 920 for a secured object, the secured objects 925 and 930 are displayed as shown in FIG. 9C, and a display mode for confirming the secured objects can be entered. Thereafter, if there is a separate designated input for fingerprint recognition or security mode release, it can be switched to a normal mode in which the secured objects are not displayed, as shown in FIG. 9D. At this time, although the case where the mode is switched between the normal mode and the security mode has been described in the above description, there may exist a plurality of different security modes. In this case, each security mode may enter differently according to the user's selection. For example, the first fingerprint is mapped to the first security mode, and the second fingerprint is mapped to the second security mode.

Also, the plurality of security modes may be mapped to correspond to different operating systems (OS). For example, the first security mode can be mapped to Android, and the second security mode can be mapped to Windows or the like. In addition, a security mode corresponding to different biometric information of a user may be set so that the user can select a desired security mode, or a screen for selecting a security mode may be output when authentication of biometric information is completed.

10A to 10C are diagrams for explaining a screen for securing an application using fingerprint information. FIG. 10A illustrates that the first application 1000 is hidden and a plurality of pages exist through the icons 1005 at the bottom. In this state, if the user's touch is detected through the fingerprint sensor 170a of FIG. 10A, a screen for guiding fingerprint input is output as shown in FIG. 10B. When the swipe operation 1004 is performed with the finger being touched in response to this guidance, authentication of the input fingerprint information is performed, and when the authentication is completed, the applications hidden in the security box The mobile terminal enters the security mode in which the mobile terminal 1010 is displayed. At this time, applications moved to the security box are displayed together with objects of a separate page or a general area. If it is displayed as a separate page as shown in FIG. 10C, it is possible to move between the general folder and the security box folder through the movement between pages. Icons 1015 may be displayed to indicate movement between the general folder and the security box folder. In particular, an identification icon 1020 is displayed to indicate whether the current page corresponds to a general folder or a security box folder .

11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating a screen for securing a widget using fingerprint information. First, in FIG. 11A, a widget 1100 hidden before the biometric information is authenticated, and icons 1115 ) Is displayed on the screen. 11B, the widgets 1120, 1125, and 1130 in the security box folder may be displayed, and an icon 1135 indicating the movement between pages may be displayed as an icon 1140) may be displayed.

In this case, an additional method for protecting various applications may be used in addition to the security method using the security box as described above. To use an application, an installation process is required and the application is managed by the administrator. Accordingly, if the user moves to a security box to protect a specific application, the application manager can disable the application in a manner such as uninstalling. Accordingly, the access to the application installed in the electronic device 100 may be restricted by the user through the above process.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, in the case of content composed of one or more files such as an application and a widget, security of another file can be set by setting one file as security. Applications, widgets, etc., can be composed of various resource files in addition to one package for execution. For example, in the case of a photo editing application, a photograph currently being edited may be stored as a separate file in the user area. At this time, the user can directly select a file to which security setting is desired, or set one file to be secured so that other related files are automatically secured. For example, when security is set for a photo editing application, the related resource file and the photo edited by the application can be automatically secured.

FIG. 12A illustrates a contact list in the normal mode, and FIG. 12B illustrates a case where a hidden contact 1200 is displayed when the security mode is entered through authentication of biometric information.

FIG. 13A illustrates a message list in the normal mode, and FIG. 13B illustrates a case where hidden messages 1300 and 1305 are displayed when the security mode is entered through authentication of the biometric information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a menu such as an entire security setting or individual security setting can be provided. In this case, when the user makes a total security setting or a total security release for the contact 1200, all the information related to the contact 1200, such as the text message of the contact, the SNS content of the contact, Box, and can be secured or unlocked at once. In this case, the user can manage the security in a lump without having to individually select a security setting or an object to be unlocked with respect to a specific person, so that user convenience can be improved.

For this purpose, the contact information may be stored in a database form. For each item in such a database, a value corresponding to each item of the contact may be stored, for example, the mobile item may be the telephone number of the contact. Therefore, when you move specific contact information to a security box, you can save the details in a specific field internally and use it to prevent access to the security box in normal mode.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Such arbitrary software may be stored in a memory such as, for example, a volatile or non-volatile storage device such as a storage device such as ROM or the like, or a memory such as a RAM, a memory chip, a device or an integrated circuit, , Or a storage medium readable by a machine (e.g., a computer), such as a CD, a DVD, a magnetic disk, or a magnetic tape, as well as being optically or magnetically recordable. It will be appreciated that the storage that may be included within the electronic device is an example of a machine-readable storage medium suitable for storing programs or programs containing instructions embodying the embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention includes a program comprising code for implementing the apparatus or method as claimed in any of the claims, and a machine-readable storage medium storing such a program. In addition, such a program may be electronically transported through any medium such as a communication signal transmitted via a wired or wireless connection, and the present invention appropriately includes the same.

In addition, the electronic device can receive and store the program from a program providing apparatus connected by wire or wireless. The program providing apparatus comprising: a memory for storing a program or the like including instructions for performing a method for securing an object in the electronic apparatus; a communication unit for performing wired or wireless communication with the electronic apparatus; And a control unit for requesting the device or automatically transmitting the program to the electronic device.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the described embodiments but should be determined by the equivalents of the claims and the claims.

Claims (26)

A method of operating an electronic device,
By an electronic device including a display, causing one or more objects to be displayed or accessible on the display;
Receiving, by the electronic device, biometric information, with the object being visible or accessible; And
In response to receipt of the biometric information, causing the display to display or accessible additional objects of the same type as the one or more objects,
Wherein the additional object is restricted prior to receiving the biometric information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more objects include one or more pages capable of displaying a plurality of app icons,
Wherein the act of displaying the additional object comprises causing at least one additional page to be displayed or accessible on the display.
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more objects include one or more app icons or widgets that are visible or accessible on the display,
Wherein the act of displaying the additional object comprises causing at least one additional app icon or widget to be displayed or accessible on the display.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more objects comprise one or more data, content, or images that are displayed or accessible on the display,
Wherein the act of displaying the additional object comprises causing at least one additional app data, content, or image to be displayed or accessible on the display.
In an electronic device,
display; And
≪ / RTI >
The processor comprising:
Being configured to display or access one or more objects on the display;
Configured to receive biometric information by the electronic device, with the object being visible or accessible;
In response to receiving the biometric information, being capable of displaying or accessing, on the display, additional objects of the same type as the one or more objects,
Wherein the additional object is restricted prior to receiving the biometric information.
Acquiring biometric information,
Authenticating the acquired biometric information,
Selecting at least one object to be secured when the biometric information is authenticated;
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of securing the selected at least one object.
The method according to claim 6,
Selecting at least one object to be unlocked when the biometric information is authenticated;
And decrypting the selected at least one object. A method for securing an object in an electronic device, comprising:
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one object comprises:
Wherein the mobile terminal is any one of a shortcut icon for executing applications, a content, a message, a contact, a call history, an SNS (Social Network Service) content, an icon representing a document of a specific file format, How to secure.
The method of claim 6, wherein the step of securing the selected at least one object further comprises:
And storing the security setting information in attribute information of the selected at least one object.
The method of claim 6, wherein the step of securing the selected at least one object further comprises:
And moving the selected at least one object to a predetermined folder of a system area of the electronic device whose access is blocked.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the selected at least one object comprises:
Wherein the access is encrypted before being moved to a predetermined folder in the system area of the electronic device that is blocked.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of securing at least one selected object further comprises:
And storing the security release information in attribute information of the selected at least one object.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein if the selected at least one object is secured, the selected at least one object is prevented from being displayed or executed.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein when the selected at least one object is unsecured, the selected at least one object that is not displayed is displayed or executed.
The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining whether a path to restore the selected at least one object is designated when the selected at least one object is unsecured;
And displaying the selected at least one object at a position corresponding to the designated path when the path to be restored is designated.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein if the path to restore is not specified,
And displaying the selected at least one object at a previous display position of the selected at least one object.
A sensor module for acquiring biometric information,
A storage unit for storing reference biometric information for authenticating the obtained biometric information;
A display unit for displaying a plurality of objects capable of selecting a security setting or a security release,
Wherein when the biometric information is input through the sensor module, the input biometric information is authenticated using the reference biometric information, and when the biometric information is authenticated, at least one object among the plurality of objects selected by security setting is identified And a controller for securing the identified at least one object.
18. The apparatus of claim 17,
Wherein when the biometric information is authenticated, at least one object selected for unsecure is identified from the plurality of objects, and the identified at least one object is unsecured.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one object comprises:
An electronic device for securing an object, characterized by being a shortcut icon for executing applications, a message, a contact, a call history, an SNS (Social Network Service) content, an icon representing a document of a specific file format, .
18. The apparatus of claim 17,
Wherein the at least one identified object is moved and stored in a predetermined folder of a system area where access to the identified at least one object is blocked when the storage unit secures the object.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the identified at least one object comprises:
Characterized in that the access is encrypted before it is moved and stored in a predetermined folder in the system area of the electronic device that is blocked.
18. The apparatus of claim 17,
Wherein the control unit controls whether the at least one identified object displayed on the display unit is not displayed or is not executed when at least one object selected by the security setting is identified.
19. The apparatus of claim 18,
Wherein the control unit controls the identified at least one object that is not displayed on the display unit to be displayed or executed when the at least one object selected for unsecure is identified.
19. The apparatus of claim 18,
Determining whether a path to be restored for the identified at least one object is designated if at least one object selected for the unsecure is identified; and if the path to be restored is designated, Wherein the control unit controls the display unit to display an object of the object.
19. The apparatus of claim 18,
Wherein when at least one object selected for the security release is identified, a path list to be restored is displayed on the display unit, and when one of the path lists is selected, the identified at least one Wherein the control unit controls the display unit to display an object of the object.
25. The apparatus of claim 24,
And to display the identified at least one object at a previous display position of the identified at least one object when the path to be restored is not designated.

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