Fingerprint-assisted force estimation
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsDuncan Kerr, Steven P. Hotelling
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments may take the form of a system having a user input device and a first sensor coupled to the user input device. The first sensor is configured to sense touch on a surface of the user input device. The system may also include a second sensor in communication with the surface of the user device configured to sense wetting of a user's fingerprint on the surface. The system has a processor coupled to the first and second sensors and configured to estimate an amount of force applied by the user's fingerprint based at least in part upon the sensed wetting of the user's fingerprint.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a user input device;
- a first sensor coupled to the user input device, wherein the first sensor is configured to sense a contact area of a touch on a surface of the user input device;
- a second sensor configured to sense ridges and valleys of a fingerprint associated with the touch;
- and
- a processor coupled to the first and second sensors and configured to estimate an amount of force applied to the surface by the touch based at least in part upon an evaluation of the ridges and the valleys of the fingerprint within the contact area.
A method of approximating force comprising:
- storing a calibration value in a non-transitory storage medium;
- detecting, with a capacitive sensor, a contact area of a finger on a fingerprint sensor;
- detecting ridges of a fingerprint and valleys of the fingerprint of the finger with a solid state sensor;
- determining a ratio of the ridges to the valleys in the contact area;
- and
- determining a force value based upon the calibration value, the contact area and the ratio.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.