System and method for selecting functions based on a finger-type-mechanism feature such as a fingerprint

• US 20020163506A1
• Filed: 05/02/2001
• Published: 11/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Multidigit Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Multidigit Incorporated
• Inventors: Matusis, Alec
• Granted Patent: US 6,603,462 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods

Abstract

A system for selecting functions based on a finger-type-mechanism feature comprises a finger-type-mechanism features database storing finger-type-mechanism features and corresponding functions. The system further comprises a finger-type-mechanism feature sensor, an identification engine and a response engine. The sensor measures a finger-type-mechanism features. The identification engine matches the feature with stored features. The response engine then identifies a function in the table corresponding to a matched feature. The response engine can then forward an instruction corresponding to the identified function to a device for execution.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a finger-type-mechanism feature from a sensor;

comparing the received feature against a stored set of at least two stored finger-type-mechanism features corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user; and

selecting a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type feature.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include a human body part.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include a human finger.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include a prosthetic.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include an inanimate object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the finger-type mechanism feature includes fingerprint data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the finger-type mechanism feature includes color.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending an instruction corresponding to a selected function to a device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing a selected function.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored set of at least two stored finger-type mechanism features is stored in a table.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving coordinate data and finger-type-mechanism feature data from a sensor;

matching the received coordinate data and received finger-type-mechanism feature data with a stored coordinate dataset and stored finger-type-mechanism feature, respectively, in a finger-type-mechanism feature memory, the memory including stored coordinate datasets, at least two stored finger-type-mechanism features corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user, and corresponding functions; and

selecting a function in the memory corresponding to a matched finger-type-mechanism feature and matched coordinate data.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include a human body part.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include a human finger.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include a prosthetic.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least two finger-type mechanisms include an inanimate object.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the finger-type mechanism feature includes fingerprint data.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the finger-type mechanism feature includes color.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the response engine is further capable of sending an instruction corresponding to a selected function to a device.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the response engine is further capable of executing a selected function.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the memory stores the features and functions in a table.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the received feature includes a fingerprint and wherein the identified characteristic includes a finger minutiae point.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the received feature includes a fingerprint and wherein the identified characteristic includes a finger minutiae point.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving motion data and finger-type-mechanism feature data from a sensor;

matching the received motion data and received finger-type-mechanism feature data with a stored motion dataset and a stored finger-type-mechanism feature, respectively, in a finger-type-mechanism feature memory, the memory including stored motion datasets, at least two stored finger-type-mechanism features corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user, and corresponding functions; and

selecting a function in the memory corresponding to a matched finger-type-mechanism feature and a matched motion dataset.

13. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions to:

receive a finger-type-mechanism feature from a sensor;

compare the received feature against a stored set of at least two stored finger-type-mechanism features corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user; and

select a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type feature.

14. A system, comprising:

means for receiving a finger-type-mechanism feature from a sensor;

means for comparing the received feature against a stored set of at least two stored finger-type-mechanism features corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user; and

means for selecting a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type feature.

15. A system, comprising:

a finger-type-mechanism feature sensor capable of reading a finger-type-mechanism feature;

memory storing at least two finger-type-mechanism features corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user, and corresponding functions;

a finger-type-mechanism feature identification engine communicatively coupled to the sensor capable of comparing a finger-type-mechanism feature read by the sensor against a finger-type-mechanism feature stored in the memory; and

a response engine communicatively coupled to the identification engine capable of selecting a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type-mechanism feature.

25. A method, comprising:

receiving a finger-type-mechanism feature from a sensor;

identifying a finger characteristic from the received feature;

comparing the identified characteristic against a stored set of at least two stored finger-type-mechanism characteristics corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user; and

selecting a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type-mechanism characteristic.

27. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions to:

receive a finger-type-mechanism feature from a sensor;

identify a finger characteristic from the received feature;

compare the identified characteristic against a stored set of at least two stored finger-type-mechanism characteristics corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user; and

select a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type-mechanism characteristic.

29. A system, comprising:

means for receiving a finger-type-mechanism feature from a sensor;

means for identifying a finger characteristic from the received feature;

means for comparing the identified characteristic against a stored set of at least two stored finger-type-mechanism characteristics corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms of a single user; and

means for selecting a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type characteristic.

30. A system, comprising:

a finger-type-mechanism feature sensor capable of reading a finger-type-mechanism feature;

memory storing at least two finger-type-mechanism characteristics corresponding to at least two different finger-type-mechanisms from a single user, and corresponding functions;

a finger-type-mechanism feature identification engine communicatively coupled to the sensor capable of identifying a characteristic from a received feature, comparing a characteristic identified from the received feature with stored characteristics; and

a response engine communicatively coupled to the identification engine capable of selecting a function corresponding to a matching stored finger-type-mechanism characteristic.