Prior art

US Patent 10783228, titled "Information processing device, application software start-up system, and application software start-up method," was granted on September 22, 2020. The patent describes a system that performs user authentication based on static biometric information, determines the user's state using dynamic biometric information, and limits application software startup according to the determined state and pre-set permission levels. This aims to improve ease of use by adjusting application access based on the user's condition.

The most relevant prior art for US Patent 10783228 is identified as JP 2005-293209 A (Patent Document 1).

Here's a breakdown of the reference:

• Full Citation: JP 2005-293209 A

• Publication/Filing Date: The patent text explicitly mentions it as a "background art" document, implying its publication/filing date precedes US10783228's priority date of June 12, 2014. The specific publication date for JP 2005-293209 A is 2005-10-20.

• Brief Description: JP 2005-293209 A addresses a problem in existing biometric authentication systems where static biometric information alone can verify an authorized user but doesn't ascertain the user's intention. This leaves systems vulnerable to illegal operations if a user is coerced. The solution proposed is an integrated authentication unit that combines physical feature biometric information (static) with emotional feature biometric information (dynamic) to determine both user identification and the user's intention for an operation. This allows detection of situations where a user is threatened and forced into an illegal operation.

• Claims Potentially Anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102:

  • Independent Claims: The core concept of using both static and dynamic (emotional) biometric information to determine user intent for an operation, as described in JP 2005-293209 A, potentially anticipates aspects of independent claims in US10783228 that broadly cover:
    • Performing user authentication based on static biometric information.
    • Determining a state of a user by comparing dynamic biometric information with pre-measured dynamic biometric information.
    • Limiting application software to be started according to the determined state of the user based on a permission level.

  Specifically, the "emotional biometrics determination unit" and "integrated authentication unit" described in JP 2005-293209 A directly relate to determining a user's mental state and intent, which is a key aspect of "determining a state of a user" in US10783228. While JP 2005-293209 A doesn't explicitly mention "permission levels" for application software, it lays the groundwork for using a determined user state (specifically, lack of free will due to duress) to control operations, which could be extended to limiting software access.

  For example, the solution presented in JP 2005-293209 A, which uses emotional biometrics to detect if a user is being threatened and forced to perform an illegal operation, directly relates to the concept of determining a user's "stress state" in US10783228 to limit access to sensitive applications like e-money or online banking. Therefore, any claims in US10783228 that broadly cover the combination of static and dynamic biometric authentication to control access to functions or applications based on a determined user state (e.g., normal, sleep, stress) would need to be carefully distinguished from the teachings of JP 2005-293209 A.