Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Beginner's Guide To Biometric Features. Apple Iphone 5S With A Fingerprint Scanner?
A Beginner's Guide To Biometric Features. Apple Iphone 5S With A Fingerprint Scanner?
A
couple
of
days
ago,
at
the
Samsung
IFA
event,
Samsung
released
a
new
smartphone
(the
Note
3)
and
a
totally
new
concept:
a
smartwatch
(the
Samsung
Galaxy
Gear).
Surprisingly,
considering
the
hype
surrounding
around
a
fingerprint
reader/scanner,
Samsung
didnt
include
this
highly
anticipated
feature
in
the
new
phone.
Instead,
they
introduced
a
new
Air
Command1.
This
failure
(?)
leaves
a
huge
room
for
Apple.
Indeed,
tomorrow
(on
September
10),
Apple
is
also
about
to
release
a
new
phone
(the
iPhone
5S)
with
(most
likely)
a
fingerprint
scanner.
It
seems
that
Apple
could
end
up
being
the
first
smartphone
player
to
deliver
this
next
generation
biometric
security
feature.
Whats
exactly
biometrics
about?
It
is
the
science
and
technology
of
measuring
and
analyzing
biological
data.
In
information
technology,
biometrics
refers
to
technologies
that
measure
and
analyze
human
body
characteristics,
such
as
DNA,
fingerprints,
eye
retinas
and
irises,
voice
patterns,
facial
patterns
and
hand
measurements,
for
authentication
purposes2.
Generally,
a
biometric
device
consists
of:
A
reader
or
scanning
device
Software
that
converts
the
scanned
information
into
digital
form
and
compares
match
points
A
database
that
stores
the
biometric
data
for
comparison
Since
at
least
1999,
Apple
Inc.
is
working
very
hard
on
security
patent
applications
and
security
features
via
biometrics
for
iDevices.
When
you
know
that,
according
to
Apple's
CEO
Tim
Cook,
94%
of
the
Fortune
500
companies
and
70%
Global
500
companies
are
testing
or
deploying
iPads3,
there
is
certainly
a
high
demand
for
security.
New
patent
applications
and
rumors
indicate
that
Apple
will
most
likely
introduce
a
new
unlock
screen
feature
on
the
iPhone
5S
that
will
utilize
higher
integrated
security
features
via
biometrics
(such
as,
fingerprint
scanner,
retinal
scans,
facial
recognition
technology).
Based
on
recent
Apple
patent
applications,
these
new
biometric
sensors/readers
also
could
be
implemented
in
other
iDevices,
such
as,
a
laptop
computer,
a
tablet
computer,
a
1
For
more
info
about
these
new
products,
I
recommend
you
read
these
websites:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/04/hands-on-the-galaxy-gear-is-here-and-better-than-expected-but-is-that- enough/
and
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/4/4692824/samsung-galaxy-gear-features-specs-release- date-price
2
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/biometrics
3
http://www.zdnet.com/new-windows-powered-tablets-threaten-ipads-enterprise-dominance-claims- analyst-7000012624/
somewhat smaller device such as a wrist-watch device [interesting!], pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a cellular telephone, or a media player. Device 10 may also be a television, a set-top box, a desktop computer, a computer monitor into which a computer has been integrated, or other suitable electronic equipment4. Here is an image of the fingerprint features provided by Patently Apple5. As you know, a patent application must contain, among other things, the description of the invention, one or more claims, any drawings referred to in the description of the claims and an abstract. Drawings often assist the reader in understanding the specifications. In these Apples patent figures 12 and 13 shown bellow we see two types of biometric sensors (fingerprint reader). On FIG. 12, one with a sensor located in an inactive area on the right side on the home button (#24B and 34); and on the on FIG. 13, one reader incorporated in the slide to unlock feature.
And here is another drawing (FIG. 16) explaining different possibilities/options (for instance, #27, #19, #14) for biometric security sensors.
More
precisely,
FIG.
1
is
a
front
perspective
view
of
an
illustrative
electronic
device
of
the
type
that
may
have
a
sensor
or
other
component
with
structures
that
may
be
used
in
near
field
communications
in
accordance
with
an
embodiment
of
the
present
invention7.
Whether
or
not
this
fingerprint
reader
feature
will
be
incorporated
in
the
iPhone
5S
is
still
uncertain
(although
a
lot
of
rumors
are
going
in
this
sense8).
However,
very
recently,
on
September
6th,
the
WIPO
published
a
new
European
patent9
filed
by
Apple
Inc.
where
the
fingerprint
reader
is
incorporated
into
the
home
button
with
near
field
communication
6
http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2013130396&recNum=1&maxRec=1&office=&pre vFilter=&sortOption=&queryString=FP%3A%28+WO%2F2013%2F130396%29&tab=PCT+Biblio
(NFC)
technology10,
allowing
for
dual
modes
of
operation
in
a
single
space-saving
design.
Here
is
the
abstract11
of
the
patent:
An
electronic
device
may
have
electrical
components
such
as
sensors.
A
sensor
may
have
sensor
circuitry
that
gathers
sensor
data
using
a
conductive
structure.
The
sensor
may
be
a
touch
sensor
that
uses
the
conductive
structure
to
form
a
capacitive
touch
sensor
electrode
or
may
be
a
fingerprint
sensor
that
uses
the
conductive
structure
with
a
fingerprint
electrode
array
to
handle
fingerprint
sensor
signals.
Near
field
communications
circuitry
may
be
included
in
an
electronic
device.
When
operated
in
a
sensor
mode,
the
sensor
circuitry
may
use
the
conductive
structure
to
gather
a
fingerprint
or
other
sensor
data.
When
operated
in
near
field
communications
mode,
the
near
field
communications
circuitry
can
use
the
conductive
structure
to
transmit
and
receive
capacitively
coupled
or
inductively
coupled
near
field
communications
signals.
A
fingerprint
sensor
may
have
optical
structures
that
communicate
with
external
equipment12.
10
NFC
is
a
set
of
standards
for
smartphones
and
similar
devices
to
establish
radio
communication
with
each
other
by
touching
them
together
or
bringing
them
into
close
proximity,
usually
no
more
than
a
few
inches,
available
at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication
11
The
abstract
merely
serves
as
technical
information.
It
must
contain
a
precise
summary
of
the
disclosure
as
contained
in
the
description,
the
claims
and
the
drawings
and
the
technical
field
to
which
the
invention
pertains,
G.
TRITTON,
Intellectual
Property
in
Europe,
3rd
ed.,
2008,
pp.147-148.
12
For
my
French
friends:
Un
dispositif
lectronique
peut
comporter
des
composants
lectriques
tels
que
des
capteurs.
Un
capteur
peut
comporter
des
lments
de
circuit
de
capteur
qui
rassemblent
des
donnes
de
capteur
au
moyen
d'une
structure
conductrice.
Le
capteur
peut
tre
un
capteur
tactile
qui
utilise
la
structure
conductrice
pour
former
une
lectrode
de
capteur
tactile
capacitif
ou
peut
tre
un
capteur
d'empreintes
digitales
qui
utilise
la
structure
conductrice
avec
un
rseau
d'lectrodes
d'empreintes
digitales
pour
grer
des
signaux
de
capteur
d'empreintes
digitales.
Des
lments
de
circuit
de
communications
de
champ
proche
peuvent
tre
inclus
dans
un
dispositif
lectronique.
Lorsqu'ils
sont
mis
en
oeuvre
dans
un
mode
de
capteur,
les
lments
de
circuit
de
capteur
peuvent
utiliser
la
structure
conductrice
pour
rassembler
des
donnes
de
capteur
d'empreintes
digitales
ou
autres.
Lorsqu'ils
sont
mis
en
oeuvre
dans
un
mode
de
communications
de
champ
proche,
les
lments
de
circuit
de
communications
de
champ
proche
peuvent
utiliser
la
structure
conductrice
pour
transmettre
et
recevoir
des
signaux
de
communication
de
champ
proche
coupls
de
manire
capacitive
ou
coupls
de
manire
inductive.
Un
capteur
d'empreintes
digitales
peut
comporter
des
structures
optiques
qui
communiquent
avec
un
quipement
externe.
Figure 4 is described in the patents as follows: diagram of a sensor with a circular ring- shaped electrode surrounding an array of electrodes in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention 13 . The two-dimensional array #206A can include up to 5,000 electrodes that can be used to capture a fingerprint. FIG. 12 is just a perspective view of the sensor button. It looks like more than rumors isnt is?! Apple will unveil the next-generation iPhone 5S and the low-cost iPhone 5C during an iPhone event This should brighten everyones day tomorrow in Cupertino. Well see whats that all about
13
http://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2013130396&recNum=1&maxRec=1&office=&pre vFilter=&sortOption=&queryString=FP%3A%28+WO%2F2013%2F130396%29&tab=PCT+Biblio