Patent Publication Number: US-2022222383-A1

Title: Encrypted hard disk device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial No. 110101179, filed on Jan. 12, 2021. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of the specification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to an encrypted hard disk device. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, computer users are usually highly concerned about privacy. How to encrypt data in a portable hard disk and quickly enter a password to use a file is a major challenge at present. Existing encryption methods for portable hard disks usually use built-in encryption software in an existing operation system or third-party encryption software that additionally installed to encrypt files. However, a password needs to be entered every time to encrypt a file. As a result, it is inconvenient and a password is prone to leakage. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the disclosure, an encrypted hard disk device is provided. The encrypted hard disk device includes a near-field communication (NFC) sensing module, a processor, a storage unit, and a power switch. The NFC sensing module is configured to read a user identification (UID) of at least one sensor element. The processor is electrically connected to the NFC sensing module and the storage unit to receive the UID and generate a control signal when the UID is approved. The power switch is electrically connected to the processor and the storage unit and maintains a conducting state according to the control signal and supplies power to the storage unit for accessing the storage unit. 
     In summary, the disclosure herein provides a sensor element of NFC to encrypt and decrypt a hard disk device, so as to effectively improve the convenience for users. In addition, a power supply of a storage unit is under controlled in the disclosure, when a UID read by the sensor element is incorrect, a processor is not allowed to read a file and power stops to supply to the storage unit, thus effectively ensures the security for users. Moreover, if a correct sensor element is not inserted, an NFC sensing module is also not allowed to read the UID, the process implements in combination with the aforementioned protection and forms a triple protection. Furthermore, the encrypted hard disk device provided herein is compatible with existing software encryption methods and avoids the risk of password leakage caused by computer virus infection since a data thief is unable to modify firmware of the processor through an operating system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of a circuit of an encrypted hard disk device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a connection state of a power switch according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of an encrypted hard disk device connected to an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram of a circuit of an encrypted hard disk device according to another embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an encrypted hard disk device with a slot and a sensor element according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of an encrypted hard disk device with a sensor element inserted according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Refer to  FIG. 1 . An encrypted hard disk device  10  includes an NFC sensing module  12 , a processor  14 , a storage unit  16 , and a power switch  18 . The NFC sensing module  12  is configured to read a built-in UID in at least one sensor element  20 . In an embodiment, the sensor element  20  is a sensor key. The processor  14  is electrically connected to the NFC sensing module  12  and the storage unit  16 . The processor  14  receives the UID from the NFC sensing module  12  and generates a control signal Sc when the UID is approved. The power switch  18  is electrically connected to the processor  14  and the storage unit  16 , and the processor  14  is electrically connected to the power switch  18  by a General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) interface, so as to transmit the control signal Sc to the power switch  18  through the GPIO interface. The power switch  18  maintains a conducting state according to the control signal Sc and supplies power to the storage unit  16  for accessing the storage unit  16 . In an embodiment, the NFC sensing module  12  further includes an NFC sensing antenna  121  and an NFC sensing controller  122 . The NFC sensing controller  122  is electrically connected to the NFC sensing antenna  121  and the processor  14 , so that the NFC sensing controller  122  reads the UID of the sensor element  20  through the NFC sensing antenna  121 . 
     In an embodiment, the storage unit  16  is a NAND flash memory or other powered memories, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. 
     In an embodiment, referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the power switch  18  is a transistor switch, for example, an N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) switch  18 ′ shown in  FIG. 2 . A gate G of the NMOS switch  18 ′ is electrically connected to the processor  14  by the GPIO interface. A drain D of the NMOS switch  18 ′ and the processor  14  are connected to a voltage terminal Vcc at the same time, and a source S of the NMOS switch  18 ′ is electrically connected to the storage unit  16 , so that the processor  14  controls the gate G to determine whether a channel between the drain D and the source S is turned on or not. When the processor  14  does not generate the control signal Sc, the gate G is not turned on, so that the channel between the drain D and the source S is not turned on, a power supply at the voltage terminal Vcc is not supplied to the storage unit  16  via the channel, and the storage unit  16  is in a power-off state in this case. When the processor  14  generates the control signal Sc, the gate G is turned on, so that the channel between the drain D and the source S is turned on, and a power supply Vs of the voltage terminal Vcc is supplied to the storage unit  16  via the channel. In an embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3 , when the encrypted hard disk device  10  is to be connected to an electronic device  22 , the encrypted hard disk device  10  is connected to the electronic device  22  by a connection cable  24  (such as a USB connection cable). The voltage terminal Vcc is a power supply from the electronic device  22  to supply power to the storage unit  16 , so that the electronic device  22  accesses data in the storage unit  16  through the processor  14 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 3 , the encrypted hard disk device  10  is plugged into the electronic device  22  via the connection cable  24 . When the NFC sensing module  12  senses that the sensor element  20  is in proximity, the NFC sensing controller  122  reads the built-in UID in the sensor element  20  through the NFC sensing antenna  121  and transmits the UID to the processor  14 . When receiving the UID, the processor  14  determines whether the received UID is approved for reading according to a built-in UID list. When determining that the UID is not approved, the processor  14  stops operation and a user is not allowed to read the encrypted hard disk device  10 . When determining that the UID is approved, the processor  14  generates the control signal Sc and transmits the control signal Sc to the power switch  18  to enable the power switch  18  to be turned on and maintained in a conducting state (that is, the channel between the drain D and the source S of the NMOS switch  18 ′ is turned on). Therefore, the power supply Vs is provided to the storage unit  16 , and the processor  14  allows the electronic device  22  to access the data in the storage unit  16 . The NFC sensing module  12  continuously transmits a radio frequency signal to the sensor element  20  to ensure continuous presence of the sensor element  20 . When the sensor element  20  is removed, the NFC sensing module  12  does not sense the sensor element  20 , and the processor  14  stops transmitting the control signal Sc. At this point, the power switch  18  returns to an open state and is powered off (that is, the channel between the drain D and the source S of the NMOS switch  18 ′ is not turned on), so that supply of power to the storage unit  16  is stopped and access to the storage unit  16  is prohibited. 
     In an embodiment, the electronic device  22  is a laptop computer or a desktop computer, but is not limited thereto. 
     Refer to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 . In addition to the NFC sensing module  12 , the processor  14 , the storage unit  16 , and the power switch  18 , the encrypted hard disk device  10  further includes a detector switch  26 . The detector switch  26  is electrically connected to the processor  14  to detect whether the sensor element  20  is inserted. The detector switch  26  determines, depending on whether the sensor element  20  is inserted, whether to generate an enable signal and transmit the enable signal to the processor  14 . The rest of the connection relationships and actuation thereof are the same as those in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , and are therefore not described herein. When the sensor element  20  is not inserted, the detector switch  26  is not turned on, and the processor  14  does not receive an enable signal and therefore is not allowed to drive the NFC sensing module  12 . In this case, the NFC sensing module  12  (the NFC sensing controller  122 ) does not read the UID of the sensor element  20 . When detecting the insertion of the sensor element  20 , the detector switch  26  generates an enable signal and transmits the enable signal to notify the processor  14 , to enable the processor  14  to drive the NFC sensing module  12  according to the enable signal to activate a sensing function, and the NFC sensing controller  122  reads the UID of the sensor element  20  via the NFC sensing antenna  121 . The NFC sensing controller  122  transmits the read UID to the processor  14 . The processor  14  receives the UID from the NFC sensing module  12  and determines whether the UID is approved for access. When the UID is approved, the control signal Sc is generated to control the power switch  18 , so that the power switch  18  maintains a conducting state according to the control signal Sc and supplies power to the storage unit  16 , to enable the electronic device  22  to access the data in the storage unit  16 . 
     In an embodiment, referring to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5 , and  FIG. 6 , the encrypted hard disk device  10  further includes a case  28  for accommodating the NFC sensing module  12 , the processor  14 , the storage unit  16 , the power switch  18 , and the detector switch  26 . A slot  30  is provided in the case  28  for the insertion of the sensor element  20 . The detector switch  26  is disposed on an inner surface of the slot  30 . The detector switch  26  determines, depending on whether the sensor element  20  is inserted, whether to activate the sensing function. Due to a mechanism-like conduction design of the detector switch  26 , the detector switch  26  protrudes from the inner surface of the slot  30 . When the sensor element  20  is inserted into the slot  30 , the detector switch  26  is pressed and turned on, so that the detector switch  26  detects the presence of the sensor element  20 , and then generates an enable signal to notify the processor  14  to enable the processor  14  to drive the NFC sensing module  12  to activate the sensing function. A shape of the slot  30  further matches a shape of the sensor element  20 , for the sensor element  20  to be inserted into the slot  30  and the detector switch  26  to be turned on at the same time. In this embodiment, the slot  30  is designed as a card slot, and the corresponding sensor element  20  is designed as a card, so that the sensor element  20  is snugly inserted and accommodated in the slot  30 , thereby enabling the detector switch  26  to detect the insertion of the sensor element  20 . After the sensor element  20  is removed from the slot  30 , the detector switch  26  is restored to an original state and the sensor element  20  is not detected. Therefore, the detector switch  26  does not generate an enable signal. In this case, the processor  14  terminates reading of the NFC sensing module  12  because the enable signal is not received. The power switch  18  returns to an open state and is powered off. In this case, access to the storage unit  16  is prohibited. 
     The embodiments recorded in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  are described by using an example in which a card slot  30  matches a card sensor element  20 . In other embodiments, the slot  30  and the sensor element  20  are of other shapes or forms, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The sensor element  20  is detected by the detector switch  26  provided that a user performs an operation conveniently to snugly insert the sensor element  20  into the slot  30  for matching. 
     In summary, a sensor element of NFC is applied to encrypt and decrypt a hard disk device, so as to effectively improve the convenience for users. In addition, a power supply of a storage unit is under controlled, when a UID read by the sensor element is incorrect, a processor is not allowed to read a file and power stops to supply to the storage unit, thus effectively ensures the security for users. Moreover, if a correct sensor element is not inserted, an NFC sensing module is also not allowed to read the UID, the process implements in combination with the aforementioned protection and forms a triple protection. 
     Furthermore, the encrypted hard disk device provided herein is compatible with existing software encryption methods and avoids the risk of password leakage caused by computer virus infection since a data thief is unable to modify firmware of the processor through an operating system. 
     The foregoing embodiments are merely for describing the technical ideas and the characteristics of the disclosure, and are intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand and hereby implement the content of the disclosure. However, the scope of claims of the disclosure is not limited thereto. In other words, equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit disclosed in the disclosure shall still fall within the patent scope of the disclosure.