US6553494B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for applying and verifying a biometric-based digital signature to an electronic document
Assignee: Sensar Inc
•
Filing: 1999-07-21
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Granted: 2003-04-22
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Expires: 2019-07-21
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus are disclosed whereby a person signs an electronic document using a personal biometric. A sample of biometric data is collected from the person at the time of the signing of the document, and encrypted with the document itself and various other data to form a digital signature. The encryption technique utilized irrefutably couples the biometric data with the document. To authenticate the coupling, an authenticator signature is generated using the original data and is then compared with the original signature to verify a match there between. The biometric data used to generate the authenticator signature is then matched with a sample provided by an alleged signer of the document to verify his or her identity.
Inventors
- 👤 Randal Glass
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 23:38
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F21/00; G06F21/60; G06F21/64; G06F21/30; G06F21/31; G06F21/32; H; H04; H04L; H04L9/00; H04L9/32; H04L9/3226; H04L9/3231; H04L9/3247
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
136 words
A method of generating a digital signature for an electronic document comprising the steps of: a. applying a first hashing function to an electronic document to produce a hash value; b. acquiring biometric data from a plurality of signers of said electronic document; c. applying a second hashing function to the combination of the hash value of the electronic document and the acquired biometric data; d. generating a digital signature related to a first signer of said electronic document utilizing as input biometric data related to said first signer, the previous hash value of step c and a secret key; and e. generating digital signatures for subsequent signers of said electronic document utilizing as input the signature of a previous signer, biometric data related to the signer whose signature is being generated, and a secret key.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
136 words
A method of generating a digital signature for an electronic document comprising the steps of: a. applying a first hashing function to an electronic document to produce a hash value; b. acquiring biometric data from a plurality of signers of said electronic document; c. applying a second hashing function to the combination of the hash value of the electronic document and the acquired biometric data; d. generating a digital signature related to a first signer of said electronic document utilizing as input biometric data related to said first signer, the previous hash value of step c and a secret key; and e. generating digital signatures for subsequent signers of said electronic document utilizing as input the signature of a previous signer, biometric data related to the signer whose signature is being generated, and a secret key.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 in which the digital signature is generated by an encrypting function having as input the hash output of step c and a secret key.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the encrypting function is asymmetric.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating or acquiring a unique token and wherein said first hashing function is applied to a combination of said unique token and said electronic document.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 4 wherein the token is associated with a time or date, or transaction identifier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said unique token and said electronic document are combined by concatenation.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said biometric data is a biometric template derived from a larger set of biometric information.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 where said key uniquely identified an input device from which said biometric data was acquired.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said biometric data represents an image of the iris of one eye of a signer of said electronic document.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said biometric data represents an image of iris of both eyes of a signer of said electronic documents.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said digital signature and said biometric data are concatenated to form a biometric document signature certificate.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 11 wherein said biometric document signature certificate also includes a unique token, said hash value and said key.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of sending said biometric document signature certificate to a central server, where it may be retrieved for authentication purposes.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of receiving a receipt code for retrieving said certificate from said central server at a later time.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of applying with the central server a digital signature to the certificate.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
83 words
A method of using a digital signature of a previous signer to authenticate the association of an electronic document and a subsequent signer of said electronic document comprising the steps of: a. retrieving biometric data of the previous signer originally associated with said electronic document; and b. verifying the association between said biometric data of the previous signer and said electronic document by recomputing the digital signature of the previous signer, thereby authenticating the association of the electronic document and the subsequent signer.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
83 words
A method of using a digital signature of a previous signer to authenticate the association of an electronic document and a subsequent signer of said electronic document comprising the steps of: a. retrieving biometric data of the previous signer originally associated with said electronic document; and b. verifying the association between said biometric data of the previous signer and said electronic document by recomputing the digital signature of the previous signer, thereby authenticating the association of the electronic document and the subsequent signer.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of comparing said biometric data associated with said electronic document with a known sample from an alleged signer of said electronic document.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of using a digital signature of a previous signer to authenticate the association of an electronic document and a subsequent signer's biometric data comprising the steps of: a. acquiring a key; b. using said key to decrypt said digital signature of the subsequent signer; c. retrieving original biometric data related to the previous signer of said electronic document; d. applying a hashing function to said electronic document to produce a hash value; e. generating a second hash value having as input said biometric data of the subsequent signer, and said hash value of step d; and f. comparing a result of step b with result of step e to verify that they match, thereby authenticating the association of the electronic document with the subsequent signer's biometric data.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of using a digital signature of a previous signer to authenticate the association of an electronic document and a subsequent signer's biometric data comprising the steps of: a. acquiring a key; b. using said key to decrypt said digital signature of the subsequent signer; c. retrieving original biometric data related to the previous signer of said electronic document; d. applying a hashing function to said electronic document to produce a hash value; e. generating a second hash value having as input said biometric data of the subsequent signer, and said hash value of step d; and f. comparing a result of step b with result of step e to verify that they match, thereby authenticating the association of the electronic document with the subsequent signer's biometric data.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of retrieving a transaction token, said token having been used in the generation of said digital signature, wherein said hashing function of step d is applied to a combination of said token and said electronic document.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 19 wherein said token and said electronic document are combined by concatenation.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 18 wherein said digital signature was created with an encrypting function which is asymmetric and wherein said key is the public complement of a private key used to encrypt said digital signature.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 18 wherein said biometric data is a biometric template derived form a larger set of biometric information.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of comparing said biometric data to a known sample from a signer of said electronic document to verify the identity of the signer.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
134 words
An apparatus for generating a digital signature of a previous signer of an electronic document to authenticate the association of the electronic document and a subsequent signer of said electronic document, comprising: a. an input device for collecting biometric data of the previous signer, said input device having a secret key comprised of a data value; b. an encoder, for applying a hash function to a combination of said electronic document and a unique token to produce a hash value; and c. a signature generator, coupled to said input device and said encoder, for generating said digital signature of the previous signer based on said biometric data, said hash value and said key, the digital signature of the previous signer being used to authenticate the association of the electronic document and the subsequent signer.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
134 words
An apparatus for generating a digital signature of a previous signer of an electronic document to authenticate the association of the electronic document and a subsequent signer of said electronic document, comprising: a. an input device for collecting biometric data of the previous signer, said input device having a secret key comprised of a data value; b. an encoder, for applying a hash function to a combination of said electronic document and a unique token to produce a hash value; and c. a signature generator, coupled to said input device and said encoder, for generating said digital signature of the previous signer based on said biometric data, said hash value and said key, the digital signature of the previous signer being used to authenticate the association of the electronic document and the subsequent signer.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said input device is capable of converting said biometric data into a biometric template, and wherein said biometric template is thereafter used in place of said biometric data.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said input device is a video camera.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 26 further comprising a tamper-proof enclosure in which said video camera is located.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said camera is rendered non-functional if an attempt to gain access to said camera enclosure is detected.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said biometric data represents a scan of the iris of one or both eyes of the signer of said electronic document.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said unique token also serves as a timestamp.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said unique token is retrieved from a token generator.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said token generator is accessible via a network.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said key uniquely identifies said input device.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said unique token and said electronic document are combined by concatenation.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-04-21 | 2006-10-21 | 2007-04-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-04-21 | 2010-10-21 | 2011-04-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-04-21 | 2014-10-21 | 2015-04-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |