# US 11,308,461 B2 · Systems and methods for tracking and transferring ownership of connected devices using blockchain ledgers

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- Number: US 11,308,461 B2
- Document ID: US11308461B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/936,833
- Filed: 2015-11-10
- Published: 2017-02-16
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-08-13
- Assignees: The Toronto-Dominion Bank
- Applicants: The Toronto-Dominion Bank
- Inventors: Perry Aaron Jones Haldenby; Rajan Mahadevan; John Jong Suk Lee; Paul Mon-Wah Chan; Orin Del Vecchio
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11308461B2

## CPC

- G06Q 20/0655: {e-cash managed centrally}
- G06F 21/62: Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
- G06F 21/645: {using a third party}
- G06Q 10/0631: Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
- G06Q 10/063114: {Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group}
- G06Q 10/08: Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
- G06Q 10/103: {Workflow collaboration or project management}
- G06Q 10/1097: {using calendar-based scheduling for task assignment}
- G06Q 20/065: {using e-cash}
- G06Q 20/102: {Bill distribution or payments}
- G06Q 20/367: {involving electronic purses or money safes}
- G06Q 20/3829: {involving key management}
- G06Q 20/401: {Transaction verification}
- G06Q 20/4016: {involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing}
- G06Q 20/405: {Establishing or using transaction specific rules}
- G06Q 30/0214: Referral reward systems
- G06Q 40/08: Insurance
- G06Q 40/128: {Check-book balancing, updating or printing arrangements}
- G06Q 50/08: Construction
- G06Q 50/18: Legal services
- H04L 9/0816: {Key establishment, i.e. cryptographic processes or cryptographic protocols whereby a shared secret becomes available to two or more parties, for subsequent use}
- H04L 9/0861: {Generation of secret information including derivation or calculation of cryptographic keys or passwords}
- H04L 9/0891: {Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying}
- H04L 9/0894: {Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage}
- H04L 9/3247: {involving digital signatures}
- H04L 63/061: {for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838)}
- H04L 63/062: {for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819)}
- H04L 63/0876: {based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint}
- H04N 5/913: for scrambling {; for copy protection}
- G06Q 2220/00: Business processing using cryptography
- G06Q 2220/10: Usage protection of distributed data files
- G06Q 2230/00: Voting or election arrangements
- H04L 9/50: {using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees}
- H04L 63/0435: {wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply symmetric encryption, i.e. same key used for encryption and decryption (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for symmetric key encryption H04L9/06)}
- H04L 63/0442: {wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30)}
- H04L 63/08: {for authentication of entities (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32)}
- H04L 63/12: {Applying verification of the received information (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32)}
- H04L 2209/24: Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
- H04L 2209/56: Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
- H04N 2005/91342: {the copy protection signal being an authentication signal}
- Y02P 90/80: Management or planning
- Y04S 10/50: Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS

## Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include computerized systems and methods that generate secured blockchain-based ledger structures that facilitate event-based control of tracked assets. In one embodiment, an apparatus associated with a centralized authority of the secured blockchain-based ledger may detect an occurrence of an event, and may access and decrypt a set of rules hashed into the secured blockchain-based ledger using a confidentially-held master cryptographic key. The apparatus may identify a rule associated with the detected event, and perform one or more operations consistent with the rule and involving at least one of assets tracked within the secured blockchain-based ledger or an owner of a portion of the tracked assets. By way of example, the detected event may triggering a sale, transfer, and/or re-allocation of an ownership interest in a tracked asset, and the identified rule may specify a distribution of proceeds derived from the sale, transfer, and/or re-allocation.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor; and
a memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the steps of:
obtaining, from the memory, a data block of a blockchain ledger, the data block comprising a first data portion, a second data portion, and information associated with at least one asset, the at least one asset comprising a connected device;
obtaining a master cryptographic key associated with a rules authority from a secure data repository accessible to the apparatus;
decrypting the first data portion using a private cryptographic key associated with the connected device, and decrypting the second data portion using the master cryptographic key associated with the rules authority;
identifying a plurality of events based on the decrypted first data portion, and identifying a plurality of rules associated with the plurality of events based on the decrypted second data portion;
detecting, based on the information and on the decrypted first data portion, an occurrence of a first one of the plurality of events associated with the connected device;
identifying, based on the decrypted second data portion, at least one of the plurality of rules that is associated with the first one of the plurality of events;
based on the identified at least one of the plurality of rules, generating a first electronic command that initiates a transfer of an ownership interest in the connected device from a first party to a second party; and
generating an additional data block of the blockchain ledger, the additional data block comprising the first data portion, the second data portion, and at least one parameter value of the transfer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the step of generating a second electronic command that initiates a disbursement of funds from a first account of the first party to a second account of the second party in accordance with the at least one of the plurality of rules.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one processor further executes the instructions and performs the steps:
receiving data from a device associated with the first party;
modifying the decrypted second data portion based on at least a portion of the received data;
encrypting the modified second data portion using the master cryptographic key of the rules authority; and
the additional data block of the blockchain ledger further comprises the encrypted modified second data portion.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
receiving data associated with at least one second event of the plurality of events;
modifying the decrypted first data portion based on at least a portion of the received data;
encrypting the modified first data portion using the master cryptographic key associated with the rules authority;
the additional data block further comprises the encrypted modified second first data portion.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information further comprises a transaction date associated with a prior transfer of the ownership interest in the connected device to the first party.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
obtaining, from the decrypted first data portion, a temporal condition associated with the connected device, the temporal condition comprising a threshold time period;
establishing, based on the transaction date, a time period associated with the ownership interest of the first party in the connected device;
determining that the established time period exceeds the threshold time period; and
detecting the occurrence of the first one of the plurality of events in response to the determination that the established time period exceeds the threshold time period.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
obtaining, from the decrypted first data portion, a usage condition associated with the connected device, the usage condition comprising a threshold value of a usage parameter of the connected device;
based on the information, compute a value of the usage parameter during a corresponding time period;
determining that the computed value of the usage parameter exceeds the threshold value during the corresponding time period; and
detecting the occurrence of the first one of the plurality of events in response to the determination that the computed value of the usage parameter exceeds the threshold value.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the private cryptographic key associated with the connected device comprises a private cryptographic key of the first party or a private cryptographic key of the second party.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the step of
generating the additional data block in accordance with the at least one of the plurality of rules associated with the first one of the plurality of events;
the at least one parameter value comprises a value characterizing the ownership interest, a first identifier of the first party, or a second identifier of the second party.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
transmitting the additional data block to one or more peer computing systems;
receiving at least a portion of an additional blockchain ledger that includes the additional data block from at least one of the one or more peer computing systems, and storing the portion of the additional blockchain ledger within the memory.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
generating an additional blockchain ledger that includes the additional data block; and
storing the additional blockchain ledger within the memory.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
detecting an occurrence of a second one of the plurality of events based on the information and on the decrypted first data portion, and identifying an additional one of the plurality of rules associated with the second one of the plurality of events based on the decrypted second data portion; and
based on the detected occurrence of the second one of the plurality of events, generate and transmit notification data to a device of the first party.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:
the second one of the plurality of events comprises a non-compliance of the connected device with a communications schedule; and
the notification data comprises a portion of the communications schedule associated with the non-compliance.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
obtaining, from the memory, the private cryptographic key associated with the connected device;
encrypting the at least one parameter value using the private cryptographic key; and
the additional data block comprises the at least one encrypted parameter value.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to perform the steps of:
generating the master cryptographic key; and
storing the master cryptographic key within a portion of the secure data repository.

### Claim 16

A computer-implemented method, comprising:
obtaining, by at least one processor, from a data repository, a data block of a blockchain ledger, the data block comprising a first data portion, a second data portion, and information associated at least one asset, the at least one asset comprising a connected device;
obtaining, by at least one processor, a master cryptographic key associated with a rules authority from a secure data repository;
decrypting, by the at least one processor, the first data portion using a private cryptographic key associated with the connected device, and decrypting the second data portion using the master cryptographic key associated with the rules authority;
identifying, by the at least one processor, a plurality of events based on the decrypted first data portion, and identifying a plurality of rules associated with the plurality of events based on the decrypted second data portion;
detecting, by the at least one processor, and based on the information and on the decrypted first data portion, an occurrence of a first one of the plurality of events associated with the connected device;
identifying, by the at least one processor, and based on the decrypted second data portion, at least one of the plurality of rules that is associated with the first one of the plurality of events;
based on the identified at least one of the plurality of rules, generating by the at least one processor, a first electronic command that initiates a transfer of an ownership interest in the connected device from a first party to a second party; and
generating, by the at least one processor, an additional data block of the blockchain ledger, the additional data block comprising the first data portion, the second data portion, and at least one parameter value of the transfer.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises generating a second electronic command that initiates a disbursement of funds from a first account of the first party to a second account of the second party in accordance with the at least one rule of the plurality of rules.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving data from a device associated with the first party;
modifying the decrypted second data portion based on at least a portion of the received data; and
encrypting the modified second data portion using the master cryptographic key of the rules authority,
wherein the additional data block further comprises the encrypted modified second data portion.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving data associated with at least one second triggering event;
modifying the decrypted first data portion based on at least a portion of the received data; and
encrypting the modified first data portion using the master cryptographic key associated with the rules authority,
wherein the additional data block further comprises the encrypted modified first data portion.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the information comprises a transaction date associated with a prior transfer of the ownership interest in the connected device to the first party.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, further comprising
obtaining, from the decrypted first data portion, a temporal condition associated with the connected device, the temporal condition comprising a threshold time period;
establishing, based on the transaction date, a time period associated with the ownership interest of the first party in the connected device;
determining that the established time period exceeds the threshold time period; and
detecting the occurrence of the first one of the plurality of events in response to the determination that the established time period exceeds the threshold time period.

### Claim 22 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, further comprising
obtaining, from the decrypted first data portion, a usage condition associated with the connected device, the usage condition comprising a threshold value of a usage parameter of the connected device during a corresponding time period;
based on the information, computing a value of the usage parameter of the connected device during a corresponding time period;
determining that computed value of the usage parameter exceeds the threshold value during the corresponding time period; and
detecting the occurrence of the first one of the plurality of events in response to the determination that the computed value of the usage parameter exceeds the threshold value.

### Claim 23

A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having storing software instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method, comprising:
obtaining, from a data repository, a data block of a blockchain ledger, the data block comprising a first data portion, a second data portion, and information associated with at least one asset, the at least one asset comprising a connected device;
obtaining a master cryptographic key associated with a rules authority from a secure data repository;
decrypting the first data portion using a private cryptographic key associated with the connected device, and decrypting the second data portion using the master cryptographic key of the rules authority;
identifying a plurality of events based on the decrypted first data portion, and identifying a plurality of rules associated with the plurality of events based on the decrypted second data portion;
detecting, based on the information and the decrypted first data portion, an occurrence of a first one of the plurality of events associated with the connected device;
identifying, based on the decrypted second data portion, at least one of the plurality of rules that is associated with the first one of the plurality of events;
based on the identified at least one of the plurality of rules, generating an electronic command that initiates a transfer of an ownership interest in the connected device from a first party to a second party; and
generating an additional data block of the blockchain ledger, the additional data block comprising the first data portion, the second data portion, and at least one parameter value of the transfer.