Digital Certificate Visitor Access Management for Smart Homes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional visitor access management systems in smart homes expose residents to security risks and inconvenience by requiring manual registration and password sharing, lacking a secure and efficient way for visitors to access homes and use home appliances.
Innovation Solution
A system that issues digital certificates to homeowners and visitors, enabling secure access management through a decentralized identifier (DID) document, allowing visitors to access homes and use devices using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, with verification and permission control by wall-pads and management terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual registration and password sharing are used for visitor access, then visitors can access the home, but security risks increase and resident convenience decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual password sharing and physical key exchange with a digital certificate-based authentication system. The management office server issues digital certificates to visitors, and the wall-pad verifies these certificates using public key infrastructure, eliminating the need for residents to share passwords or physically accompany visitors during registration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the management office server and wall-pad as intermediary components between the resident and visitor. The server acts as a trusted authority that issues digital certificates, while the wall-pad serves as a verification intermediary that checks visitor credentials without requiring direct involvement from the resident, thus maintaining security while improving convenience.
2Ease of operation
If digital certificates are issued and verified automatically, then security is improved and resident convenience is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the access control system into distinct functional modules: the management office server for certificate issuance, the wall-pad for verification, and the visitor terminal for presenting credentials. This segmentation allows each component to have a specialized, simplified function while collectively providing robust security and automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall-pad is designed as a multi-functional device that can verify digital certificates for various types of access (entrance doors, elevators, home devices) and handle different visitor types (delivery personnel, guests, service providers). This universality reduces the need for multiple specialized systems, managing complexity through consolidation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If visitors can use home devices with delegated permission, then visitor functionality is enhanced, but information exposure risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by granting visitors different levels of access permission to different home devices based on their specific needs. The delegated digital certificate contains device-specific authorization information, allowing visitors to access only the particular devices they require for their visit purpose, rather than providing universal access to all home devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The resident performs preliminary action by delegating specific device access permissions to the visitor through the digital certificate before the visitor arrives. This pre-configuration of permissions ensures that visitors only gain access to authorized devices, preventing information exposure while maintaining necessary functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances security and convenience by allowing secure, automated visitor access and device usage, minimizing resident inconvenience and exposure of sensitive information.
Implementation Method 1
when the management terminal is a wall-pad management terminal, verifying, by the wall-pad, the digital certificate in response to a request for verification for entry from the wall-pad management terminal
Implementation Method 2
allowing secure access management through a decentralized identifier (DID) document, allowing visitors to access homes and use devices using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a method for user-centered visitor access management, which may include issuing, by a management office server, a digital certificate to a householder terminal; registering, by a wall-pad, a householder in response to a request to register the householder based on the digital certificate; requesting, by the householder terminal, the management office server to register a visitor based on a visit request from a visitor terminal and delegating the digital certificate to the visitor terminal; making an entry request to a management terminal based on the digital certificate; verifying, by the wall-pad, the digital certificate based on a request for verification for entry from a wall-pad management terminal and providing a verification result to the wall-pad management terminal when the management terminal is the wall-pad management terminal; and managing and controlling, by the wall-pad, permission to use home devices based on delegated permission information of the digital certificate.