Patent ID: 8738907

Claim:
An authentication method for authenticating one or more functions at a wireless device based on a proximity of the wireless device to a corresponding authentication module, the method comprising: the wireless device determining that a particular function has been requested; the wireless device determining whether the particular function requires authentication of the wireless device via a wireless authentication module that is physically separate from the wireless device prior to execution of the requested particular function as a proxy for determining whether the wireless device is allowed to execute the particular function at the wireless device's current location; responsive to the wireless device determining that the particular requested function requires authentication of the wireless device, the wireless device: determining, via a short-range transceiver circuit of the wireless device, whether an authentication module is available within a short-range wireless communication range of the wireless device, and is thus proximate the wireless device, for use in authenticating the wireless device and thus determining whether the wireless device is allowed to execute the particular function at the wireless device's current location; responsive to determining that a particular authentication module is within the short-range wireless communication range of the wireless device, the wireless device sending an authentication challenge to the authentication module and determining whether the wireless device is able to authenticate itself via the particular authentication module by comparing a locally produced authentication result and a remotely produced authentication result calculated at the authentication module responsive to the authentication challenge and transmitted back to the wireless device via the short-range transceiver circuit; if the wireless device is not able to authenticate itself via the authentication module, by comparing and not finding a match between the locally produced authentication result and the remotely produced authentication result, the wireless device determining that it is not allowed to execute the particular function at the wireless device's current location and the wireless device refraining from executing the particular requested function; if the wireless device is able to authenticate itself via the authentication module, by comparing and finding a match between the locally produced authentication result and the remotely produced authentication result, the wireless device determining that it is allowed to execute the particular function at the wireless device's current location and the wireless device executing the particular requested function.