IP Library Granted Patent US 11,942,090
Granted Patent B2
US 11,942,090 · App. 17/486,670 · Granted Mar 26, 2024

Accessory device based authentication for digital assistant requests

Inventors: Ryan D. Webber (Vancouver, CA); Trungtin Tran (Sunnyvale, CA); Nikrouz Ghotbi (Seattle, WA); Naresh Kumar Chinnathambi Kailasam (San Jose, CA); Sue Wen Chiao (Redwood City, CA); Tyler C. Leppek (Santa Cruz, CA); Brandon J. Newendorp (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
G10L15/22G10L15/18G10L2015/223
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,942,090
App. No.
17/486,670
Granted
Mar 26, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

An example process includes at an electronic device with one or more processors and memory: while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device: receiving a natural language input; determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request; in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request: determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria: initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task.

Claims (193)

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device:

receive a natural language input;

determine whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request;

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request:

determine whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

initiate, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and

provide an output indicative of the initiated secure task.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

provide a second output indicating that the electronic device is unable to perform the secure task while the electronic device is in the locked state.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input does not correspond to a secure task request and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

initiate, by the electronic device, a second task corresponding to the natural language input without determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and

provide a third output indicative of the initiated second task.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input does not correspond to a secure task request and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

determine whether satisfying a second task corresponding to the natural language input includes providing secure output; and

in accordance with a determination that satisfying the second task includes providing secure output:

determine whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria;

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 provide, by the electronic device, the secure output; and

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 provide a fourth output indicating that the electronic device is unable to complete the second task.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

after providing the secure output and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

receive a first user input responsive to the secure output; and

initiate, by the electronic device, the second task based on the first user input.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

cause the external accessory device to provide a fifth output indicating the initiation of the secure task.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the fifth output includes a prompt for user cancellation of the initiated secure task, and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

receive, from the external accessory device, an indication of user selection of the prompt; and

in accordance with receiving the indication of user selection of the prompt while initiating the secure task, terminate, by the electronic device, the secure task.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

provide, by the electronic device, a sixth output indicating a use of the external accessory device to authenticate the electronic device for the secure task.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request includes:

determining whether the secure task is of a first type or of a second type.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria is performed in accordance with a determination that the secure task is of the first type, and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the secure task is of the second type and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

provide, by the electronic device, a seventh output indicating that the electronic device is unable to complete the secure task while the electronic device is in the locked state.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task includes second secure output.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

determine whether the electronic device satisfies a set of security criteria corresponding to the secure task, wherein initiating the secure task is performed in accordance with a determination that the electronic device satisfies the set of security criteria.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

prior to receiving the natural language input, receive, while the electronic device is in the locked state, second user input corresponding to a request to initiate a digital assistant; and

in response to receiving the second user input, initiate a digital assistant session, wherein the natural language input is received in accordance with initiating the digital assistant session.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task is provided during the initiated digital assistant session, and wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

while the electronic device is in the locked state, during the initiated digital assistant session, and after providing the output indicative of the initiated secure task:

receive a second natural language input corresponding to a request for the electronic device to perform a second secure task; and

in accordance with receiving the second natural language input:

initiate the second secure task without determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and

provide an eighth output indicative of the initiated second secure task.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to:

while the electronic device is in the locked state:

after providing the eighth output, dismiss the initiated digital assistant session;

after dismissing the initiated digital assistant session, receive a third natural language input corresponding to a request for the electronic device to perform a third secure task; and

in accordance with receiving the third natural language input, determine whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein satisfying the set of authentication criteria requires the external accessory device to be physically associated with a user of the electronic device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request includes determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a personal domain.

18. An electronic device, comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:

while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device:

receiving a natural language input;

determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request;

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request:

determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and

 providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task.

19. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

providing a second output indicating that the electronic device is unable to perform the secure task while the electronic device is in the locked state.

20. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input does not correspond to a secure task request and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

initiating, by the electronic device, a second task corresponding to the natural language input without determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and

providing a third output indicative of the initiated second task.

21. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input does not correspond to a secure task request and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

determining whether satisfying a second task corresponding to the natural language input includes providing secure output; and

in accordance with a determination that satisfying the second task includes providing secure output:

determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria;

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 providing, by the electronic device, the secure output; and

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 providing a fourth output indicating that the electronic device is unable to complete the second task.

22. The electronic device of claim 21 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

after providing the secure output and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

receiving a first user input responsive to the secure output; and

initiating, by the electronic device, the second task based on the first user input.

23. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

causing the external accessory device to provide a fifth output indicating the initiation of the secure task.

24. The electronic device of claim 23 , wherein the fifth output includes a prompt for user cancellation of the initiated secure task, and wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:

receiving, from the external accessory device, an indication of user selection of the prompt; and

in accordance with receiving the indication of user selection of the prompt while initiating the secure task, terminating, by the electronic device, the secure task.

25. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

providing, by the electronic device, a sixth output indicating a use of the external accessory device to authenticate the electronic device for the secure task.

26. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request includes:

determining whether the secure task is of a first type or of a second type.

27. The electronic device of claim 26 , wherein determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria is performed in accordance with a determination that the secure task is of the first type, and the one or more programs further include instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the secure task is of the second type and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

providing, by the electronic device, a seventh output indicating that the electronic device is unable to complete the secure task while the electronic device is in the locked state.

28. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task includes second secure output.

29. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

determining whether the electronic device satisfies a set of security criteria corresponding to the secure task, wherein initiating the secure task is performed in accordance with a determination that the electronic device satisfies the set of security criteria.

30. The electronic device of claim 18 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

prior to receiving the natural language input, receiving, while the electronic device is in the locked state, second user input corresponding to a request to initiate a digital assistant; and

in response to receiving the second user input, initiating a digital assistant session, wherein the natural language input is received in accordance with initiating the digital assistant session.

31. The electronic device of claim 30 , wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task is provided during the initiated digital assistant session, and the one or more programs further include instructions for:

while the electronic device is in the locked state, during the initiated digital assistant session, and after providing the output indicative of the initiated secure task:

receiving a second natural language input corresponding to a request for the electronic device to perform a second secure task; and

in accordance with receiving the second natural language input:

initiating the second secure task without determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and

providing an eighth output indicative of the initiated second secure task.

32. The electronic device of claim 31 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

while the electronic device is in the locked state:

after providing the eighth output, dismissing the initiated digital assistant session;

after dismissing the initiated digital assistant session, receiving a third natural language input corresponding to a request for the electronic device to perform a third secure task; and

in accordance with receiving the third natural language input, determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria.

33. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein satisfying the set of authentication criteria requires the external accessory device to be physically associated with a user of the electronic device.

34. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request includes determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a personal domain.

35. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with one or more processors and memory:

while the electronic device is in a locked state and in communication with an external accessory device:

receiving a natural language input;

determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request;

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request:

determining whether one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy a set of authentication criteria; and

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 initiating, by the electronic device, a secure task corresponding to the natural language input; and

 providing an output indicative of the initiated secure task.

36. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

providing a second output indicating that the electronic device is unable to perform the secure task while the electronic device is in the locked state.

37. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input does not correspond to a secure task request and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

initiating, by the electronic device, a second task corresponding to the natural language input without determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and

providing a third output indicative of the initiated second task.

38. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the natural language input does not correspond to a secure task request and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

determining whether satisfying a second task corresponding to the natural language input includes providing secure output; and

in accordance with a determination that satisfying the second task includes providing secure output:

determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria;

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 providing, by the electronic device, the secure output; and

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device do not satisfy the set of authentication criteria:

 providing a fourth output indicating that the electronic device is unable to complete the second task.

39. The electronic device of claim 38 , further comprising::

after providing the secure output and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

receiving a first user input responsive to the secure output; and

initiating, by the electronic device, the second task based on the first user input.

40. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

causing the external accessory device to provide a fifth output indicating the initiation of the secure task.

41. The electronic device of claim 40 , wherein the fifth output includes a prompt for user cancellation of the initiated secure task, and further comprising::

receiving, from the external accessory device, an indication of user selection of the prompt; and

in accordance with receiving the indication of user selection of the prompt while initiating the secure task, terminating, by the electronic device, the secure task.

42. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

providing, by the electronic device, a sixth output indicating a use of the external accessory device to authenticate the electronic device for the secure task.

43. The method of claim 35 , wherein determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request includes:

determining whether the secure task is of a first type or of a second type.

44. The electronic device of claim 43 , wherein determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria is performed in accordance with a determination that the secure task is of the first type, and further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the secure task is of the second type and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

providing, by the electronic device, a seventh output indicating that the electronic device is unable to complete the secure task while the electronic device is in the locked state.

45. The method of claim 35 , wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task includes second secure output.

46. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

in accordance with a determination that the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria and while the electronic device is in the locked state:

determining whether the electronic device satisfies a set of security criteria corresponding to the secure task, wherein initiating the secure task is performed in accordance with a determination that the electronic device satisfies the set of security criteria.

47. The method of claim 35 , further comprising::

prior to receiving the natural language input, receiving, while the electronic device is in the locked state, second user input corresponding to a request to initiate a digital assistant; and

in response to receiving the second user input, initiating a digital assistant session, wherein the natural language input is received in accordance with initiating the digital assistant session.

48. The method of claim 47 , wherein the output indicative of the initiated secure task is provided during the initiated digital assistant session, and further comprising::

while the electronic device is in the locked state, during the initiated digital assistant session, and after providing the output indicative of the initiated secure task:

receiving a second natural language input corresponding to a request for the electronic device to perform a second secure task; and

in accordance with receiving the second natural language input:

initiating the second secure task without determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria; and

providing an eighth output indicative of the initiated second secure task.

49. The method of claim 48 , further comprising::

while the electronic device is in the locked state:

after providing the eighth output, dismissing the initiated digital assistant session;

after dismissing the initiated digital assistant session, receiving a third natural language input corresponding to a request for the electronic device to perform a third secure task; and

in accordance with receiving the third natural language input, determining whether the one or more states of the external accessory device satisfy the set of authentication criteria.

50. The method of claim 35 , wherein satisfying the set of authentication criteria requires the external accessory device to be physically associated with a user of the electronic device.

51. The method of claim 35 , wherein determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a secure task request includes determining whether the natural language input corresponds to a personal domain.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 28, 2021
From: WEBBER, RYAN D.; TRAN, TRUNGTIN; GHOTBI, NIKROUZ; CHINNATHAMBI KAILASAM, NARESH KUMAR; CHIAO, SUE WEN; LEPPEK, TYLER C.; NEWENDORP, BRANDON J.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 057944/0861 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63196842 · Jun 4, 2021
Related Publication 20220392446A1 · Dec 8, 2022