# US 11,113,373 B2 · Unlocking electronic devices using touch-based sensors > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,113,373 B2 - Document ID: US11113373B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/074,456 - Filed: 2016-10-06 - Published: 2019-02-28 - Granted: 2021-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2016-10-06 - Assignees: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - Applicants: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - Inventors: Sudish Mukundan; Christopher Charles Kruger - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11113373B2 ## CPC - G06F 21/32: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints - G06F 3/044: by capacitive means - G06F 3/0488: using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract In some examples, an electronic device includes a touch-based sensor, a proximity sensor, and a processor to in response to determining, based on output from the proximity sensor, that the electronic device is in an enclosed space: determine whether a specified number of multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, and in response to determining that the specified number of multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, unlock the electronic device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic device comprising: a touch-based sensor; a proximity sensor; and a processor to: determine, based on output from the proximity sensor, whether the electronic device is in an enclosed space; in response to determining that the electronic device is in the enclosed space, activate a count-based unlocking process that comprises: counting a number of multiple touches of the touch-based sensor, determining, based on the counting, whether a specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, and in response to determining that the specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, unlock the electronic device that is determined to be in the enclosed space; and in response to determining that the electronic device is not in the enclosed space, activate a different unlocking process that comprises: unlocking the electronic device determined to not be in the enclosed space in response to a single touch of the touch-based sensor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch-based sensor is to sense a fingerprint of a user, and wherein the detecting of the specified number of the multiple touches comprises detecting multiple instances of the fingerprint of the user. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the detecting of the specified number of the multiple touches comprises detecting that the multiple instances of the fingerprint of the user each match a target fingerprint. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the unlocking of the electronic device in response to determining the specified number of the multiple touches or in response to the single touch comprises unlocking a touch-screen display device of the electronic device to accept touch-based inputs on the touch-screen display device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the electronic device is in the enclosed space is based on detecting light by an optical sensor of the proximity sensor. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the electronic device is in the enclosed space is based on detecting a distance of the electronic device to an external object. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a vibrator, wherein the processor is to, in response to the determining that the electronic device is in the enclosed space, activate the vibrator responsive to a user touch of the touch-based sensor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is to determine that the specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor based on comparing a count produced by the counting to a threshold. ### Claim 9 A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions that upon execution by an electronic device cause the electronic device to: determine, based on an output of a proximity sensor, whether the electronic device is in an enclosed space; in response to determining that the electronic device is in the enclosed space, activate a count-based unlocking process of the electronic device, the count-based unlocking process comprising: counting a number of multiple touches of a touch-based sensor, determining, based on the counting, whether a specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, and in response to determining that the specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, unlock the electronic device that is determined to be in the enclosed space; and in response to determining that the electronic device is not in the enclosed space, activate a different unlocking process that comprises: unlocking the electronic device determined to not be in the enclosed space in response to a single touch of the touch-based sensor. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions upon execution by the electronic device cause the electronic device to: determine that the specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor based on comparing a count produced by the counting to a threshold. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions upon execution by the electronic device cause the electronic device to receive, from the touch-based sensor, data representing a fingerprint of a user in response to each touch of the multiple touches, and wherein the detecting of the specified number of the multiple touches comprises detecting multiple instances of the fingerprint of the user that matches a target fingerprint. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions upon execution by the electronic device cause the electronic device to receive a user selection of the specified number. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the unlocking of the electronic device in response to determining the specified number of the multiple touches or in response to the single touch comprises unlocking a touch-sensitive display device to accept touch-based inputs. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the determining whether the electronic device is in the enclosed space is based on detecting light by an optical sensor of the proximity sensor. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the determining whether the electronic device is in the enclosed space is based on detecting a distance of the electronic device to an external object. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions upon execution by the electronic device cause the electronic device to: in response to determining that the electronic device is in the enclosed space, activate a vibrator of the electronic device responsive to a user touch of the touch-based sensor. ### Claim 17 A method of an electronic device, comprising: in response to determining, based on output from a proximity sensor, that the electronic device is in an enclosed space, activating a count-based unlocking process that comprises: counting a number of multiple touches of a touch-based sensor, determining, based on the counting, whether a specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, and in response to determining that the specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor, unlocking the electronic device that is determined to be in the enclosed space; and in response to determining that the electronic device is not in the enclosed space, activating a different unlocking process that comprises: unlocking the electronic device determined to not be in the enclosed space in response to a single touch of the touch-based sensor. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the determining that the specified number of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor has been detected by the touch-based sensor is based on comparing a count produced by the counting to a threshold. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, further comprising: in response to determining that the electronic device is in the enclosed space, activating a vibrator of the electronic device responsive to a user touch of the touch-based sensor. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the counting comprises incrementing a count in responsive to each touch of the multiple touches of the touch-based sensor producing a fingerprint of a user that matches a target fingerprint.