Abstract:
An authentication apparatus includes a reading or recording medium equipped with an authentication tag, and a reading and recording drive that includes a transmitter and a coupler chip, wherein the authentication tag and the transmitter are capable of communicating with each other when the reading medium or the recording medium is coupled to the reading and recording drive. An authentication method includes providing a reading medium or a recording medium with an authentication tag, providing a reading and/or recording drive with a transmitter and a communication interface wherein the authentication tag and the transmitter are capable of communicating with each other when the reading medium or recording medium is coupled to the reading and/or recording drive, and authenticating the reading medium or recording medium via a communication between the authentication tag and the transmitter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Document) readers, and is specifically related to authentication tags provided on removable system parts.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     Replaceable unit monitors (RUMs) are increasingly being used in machines to monitor the status of replaceable sub-assemblies, otherwise known as consumer replaceable units (CRUs). Printers, copiers, fax machines, and image forming apparatus in general, may have a number of CRUs including fuser modules, print cartridge and a toner bottles. A RFID transponder, or tag, mounted on each sub-assembly, may communicate with a unique coupler device via a dedicated antenna that may be placed in close proximity to the RFID tag. A host computer or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), in communication with each individual coupler device, interrogates the status of each RFID tag.  
         [0005]     An exemplary system and method for controlling communications in a security system based upon RFID techniques is discussed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0160309. The RFID reader is provided with multiple modulation techniques, multiple antennas, and the capability to vary its power level and carrier frequency.  
         [0006]     U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0141962 discloses an apparatus and method for locating an RFID transponder and includes a plurality of antennas for receiving identification data broadcast by the RFID transponder.  
         [0007]     Another exemplary method and apparatus for tracking items with a RFID tag is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,121. This patent includes passive RFID tags, interrogators with several antenna inputs connected to the sensing antennas in order to multiplex the antenna signals, and a host computer in communication with the interrogators.  
         [0008]     Another RFID system is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,420, which includes multiple antennas, at least one of which can be selected to facilitate the interrogation of RFID elements, a control system for addressing antennas sequentially so that the antenna system can determine the order of the tagged items.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,027 further discloses a proximity reader for a RFID system that is programmed to determine and store optimum antenna impedance values to achieve peak antenna resonance at each of multiple operating frequencies.  
         [0010]     Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,564 discloses an exemplary design of a multi-directional RF (radio frequency) antenna comprising a plurality of coils adapted to communicate to a source, such as an RFID tag. The antenna includes a switch for selecting at least one of the RF antenna coils for transmission of the RF signals and receipt of the RF response signals.  
         [0011]     All of the references indicated above are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for their teachings.  
         [0012]     Also, software piracy is an increasing issue for companies that make software applications and games. In the past, software manufacturers have relied on the use of specially formatted media, or on license key numbers that need to be input to the application for installation on a user&#39;s computer. Sometimes, critical data is provided in areas of a media such as, for example, a CD or a DVD, that are not accessible by standard operation system utilities or software applications that are designed for copying files. For example, some applications such as games won&#39;t even launch unless the media is in the drive, and if the media is removed from the drive, then the application shuts down. However, in this case, the hidden data is static and once the data location on the media is found, then the system is broken. Moreover, by sharing the license key number, several users can use and/or install multiple copies of a software.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     Various exemplary implementations of systems, methods and devices provide an authentication apparatus that includes a reading and recording medium with a tag and a reading and recording drive that includes a transmitter and a communication interface with a coupler chip, wherein the tag and the transmitter are capable of communicating with each other.  
         [0014]     Moreover, various exemplary implementations provide an authentication method that includes providing one of a reading medium and a recording medium with an authentication tag, and providing a media reading and recording drive with a transmitter and a communication interface that includes a coupler chip, wherein the authentication tag and the transmitter are capable of communicating with each other when one of the reading medium and the recording medium is coupled to the media reading and recording drive.  
         [0015]     Moreover, various exemplary implementations provide an authentication method that includes issuing an authentication command to the coupler chip, generating cryptography data via a cryptography algorithm using the coupler chip, generating a set of drive keys using the coupler chip, providing a set of tag keys to the coupler chip using the authentication tag, and comparing the drive keys with the tag keys. Furthermore, various exemplary implementations include running the set of drive keys through the tag cryptography algorithm, and comparing the encrypted set of drive keys to the generated tag cryptography data.  
         [0016]     Also, various exemplary implementations include a controller, one of a reading medium and a recording medium that includes a tag and is controlled by the controller, and a media reading and/or recording drive that includes a transmitter and a coupler chip controlled by the controller, wherein the controller controls authentication communication between the tag and the transmitter when the reading and recording medium is coupled to the reading and recording drive. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are perspective drawings of a dual nesting station with a container having an RFID tag embedded therein;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of an exemplary CD or DVD medium with an authentication tag and an antenna;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of an exemplary authentication system; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary authentication method. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     An implementation of a portion of an exemplary container tracking and identification system is shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . Referring to  FIG. 1A , a dual nesting station  10  is shown upon which an item or container  12  may be placed. The dual nesting station contains two locations  14  and  16 , where containers may be placed and tracked. A dual nesting station  10  is shown as an exemplary implementation, however, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that a single nesting station  14  may be implemented, or any plurality of nesting stations may be implemented. The nesting stations  14  and  16  may be implemented as a generally flat component which may be placed wherever there is a need to track a container, or it may be formed as an integral part of a shelf, pallet, bench, table, or any other location where items or containers are located.  
         [0022]     Each nesting station may include an antenna  18  imbedded within, or placed upon, each nesting stations  14  and  16 . Other circuitry, not shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , may be used to send and receive signals to and from an RFID tag  19  imbedded within, or placed upon, the container  12 . When the container  12  is placed in proximity to the nesting station  14 , communication of signals between the container RFID tag  19  and the antenna  18  becomes then possible.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of an exemplary CD or DVD medium  300 . The medium  300  comprises an authentication tag  320  and an antenna  340 . Similarly to the above-described circuitry, the tag  320  and the antenna  340  may be embedded in the medium  300 . The tag  320  may contain a cryptography algorithm that may be used by an installation utility or a software application in order to validate the authenticity of the medium  300  when coupled to a medium recording or reading drive. The medium  300  does not have to be coupled to the drive at all times, but only needs to be coupled to the drive whenever needed, for example, by the authentication application. The application may require authentication of the medium  300 , for example, at random intervals.  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary authentication system  400 . The authentication system  400  may comprise a medium  410  equipped with an authentication tag  420 , an antenna board  430 , a radio frequency coupler chip  440 , and an interface board  450 . Similarly to a CRUM monitoring the activity of a CRU, the authentication tag  420  on the medium  410  communicates with the coupler chip  440  present on the medium reader in order to authenticate the medium  410  before being used in the system  400 . The coupler chip  440  may be controlled by the interface board  450  during the authentication process. The coupler chip  440  and the authentication tag  420  may also be designed to randomly trigger authentication based on an internal algorithm, timer, counter, and the like. As such, any attempts to bypass the security algorithms by physical modification would be more difficult because the medium  410  such as, for example, a CD/DVD player, and the firmware of the host device would have to be modified. An interrupt output signal from the interface board  450  may also be added to indicate to the host that the authentication sequence has been triggered.  
         [0025]     The authentication tag  420  embedded in the medium  410  may serve other purposes besides authentication, which guards against counterfeiting. The authentication tag  420  can contain information that supports other security features such as, for example, regional codes, country codes and zone locks. These features are intended to provide control over the release of copyrighted material in different geographical regions at different times. They may also be used to insure, for example, market exclusivity as agreed between a distributor and an owner of the copyrighted material. These codes can be stored, for example, in the Read Only Memory (ROM) or in a One Time Programmable memory (OTP) , and programmed during the manufacture (recording) of the medium  410  and may only be read after a successful authentication sequence. In addition, the tag can store a counter indicating the number of times a software application or game can be installed. For example, as the user installs the software, the counter is decremented. This feature may be used to control the number of times an application or game is installed. If the maximum number of installations is exceeded, the installation application may refuse to install the application or the game. It may also be possible to erase the tag memory after a number of illegal installations are attempted, and thus removing any record from the tag of any stored information critical for the application or game to run.  
         [0026]     It is also possible to store in the authentication tag  420  encryption/decryption keys for reading and recording encrypted data or any other information essential to the use and, or access of, the stored information. A similar approach may be used to integrate the medium  410  with authentication tag  420  into the Content Protection System Architecture (CPSA) umbrella. CPSA is essentially the framework under which, for example, the DVD family security features fall. An example of CPSA is the Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM). In CPRM, a unique ID is recorded in a special zone of the medium  410  such as, for example, a DVD, and later used for encrypting the data recorded in the medium  410 . If the content of the medium  410  is copied to another DVD, the unique ID may be different, or missing, and the DVD player may fail to reproduce the contents. In the case of a medium  410  with an authentication tag  420 , the unique Media ID can be stored in a protected memory of the authentication tag  420 . The requirement of achieving a successful authentication before accessing the memory of the authentication tag  420 , and therefore the unique ID necessary for the content decryption, adds an additional level of security to the system.  
         [0027]     The coupler chip and authentication tag  420  may preferably incorporate encryption, decryption and other security mechanisms directly in the silicon vs. a firmware implementation as added security. Also, it is possible to implement the chipset (coupler chip  440  and authentication tag  420 ) with several variants of the authentication or security algorithms, or several different algorithms, that can be invoked at random times in order to further obfuscate attempts to break the security algorithms.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary authentication method. In  FIG. 4 , the method starts in step S 100 , for example, when a CD or DVD medium is inserted into a drive. Next, control continues to step S 110 , where an authentication command is submitted to the coupler chip. During this step, a special installation utility may invoke the authentication mechanism of the tag prior to installation of the CD or DVD medium. Next, control continues to step S 120 , where the coupler chip generates cryptography data via a cryptography algorithm and a set of drive keys. The encryption algorithm to generate the cryptography data may be unique to the specific application such as, for example, a CD or DVD.  
         [0029]     Next, control continues to step S 130 . In step S 130 , a set of tag keys, which are generated by the authentication tag, are exchanged with the coupler chip. The drive keys and the tag keys may then be compared to each other. Next, control continues to step S 140 , where a comparison is made between the drive keys, generated by the coupler chip, and the tag keys, generated by the authentication tag. If the drive keys and the tag keys correspond to each other, then control continues to step S 145 , where the authentication sequence is initiated between the coupler chip and the host device. Next, control continues to step S 150 , where the coupler chip and the host generate cryptographic data and calculate a key. Next, control continues to step S 155 , where authentication information is exchanged between the coupler chip and the host device. Next, control continues to step S 160 , where a determination of the success of the authentication is made. If the cryptography data generated by the coupler chip corresponds to the cryptography data generated by the host, the authentication is successful and control continues to step S 165 , where access to the internal registers of the authentication tag is allowed. Next, control continues to step  170 , where normal operation of the CD, DVD or software is started or allowed to continue running.  
         [0030]     If in step S  140  the drive keys in the coupler chip are different than, or do not correspond to, the drive keys in the authentication tag, then control jumps to step S 180 , where a fault signal may be generated. The fault signal may be generated, for example, by locking up the driver, displaying a fault message, and the like. After generating the fault signal in step S 180 , control continues to step S 190 , where the method ends.  
         [0031]     If in step S 160  the authentication is not successful, then control jumps to step S 180 , where a fault signal may be generated. The fault signal may be, for example, locking up the driver, displaying a fault message, and the like. After generating the fault signal in step S 180 , control continues to step S 190 , where the method ends.  
         [0032]     Following step S 170 , control continues to step, S 175 , where a determination is made about whether to exit the CD or DVD or software application. If the determination is made to decline exiting the system and continues using the CD, DVD or software, then control continues to step S 185 , where an authentication routine as described above is triggered at random, then control returns to step S 110  to execute the authentication routine anew. If the determination is made to exit the CD, DVD or software, then control continues to step S 190 , where the method ends.  
         [0033]     While the present invention is described above in connection with various implementations thereof, it will be understood that such details are exemplary and not limiting. On the contrary, various alternatives, modifications and equivalents of the details and implementations described above are contemplated.