Unitized Ergonomic Two-Dimensional Fingerprint Motion Tracking Device and Method

• US 20080226132A1
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Validity Sensors Incorporated (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gardner, Lawrence C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,345 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1335 Combining adjacent partial images (e.g. slices) to create a composite input or reference pattern; Tracking a sweeping finger movement

Abstract

A sensor which uses a plurality of partial fingerprint readers (imagers), and various computational algorithms, to detect changes in fingerprint images as a function of finger movement. The sensor can provide both finger motion information and fingerprint images. The sensor uses multiple partial fingerprint readers, arranged in different directions on a surface, to detect finger motion in two dimensions. The sensor can also detect the relative speed and direction of finger movement. Some sensor embodiments use deep finger penetrating radio frequency (RF) based circuits, which can be inexpensively printed or formed on the surface of robust and flexible dielectric materials such as Kapton tape. The sensor also has textured surfaces to help guide the user. The sensor both small and robust, and is well suited for control applications for low-cost mass market microprocessor controlled devices such as cell phones, MP3 players, laptop computers, and other devices.

Claims

1. A finger motion tracking device used to detect finger motion in at least two dimensions, comprising:

a plurality of partial fingerprint imagers;

each of said fingerprint imagers being capable of detecting finger motion in at least one direction;

in which the plurality of partial fingerprint imagers are disposed to detect finger print motion in at least a first direction and a second direction that is different from the first direction.

2. The device of claim 1, in which the device is used to control a cursor or a menu on the display screen of a microprocessor or computer controlled device.

3. The device of claim 1, in which the information from at least one of said partial fingerprint imagers is used to construct an image of a fingerprint.

4. The device of claim 1, in which the plurality of partial fingerprint imagers are present on the same substrate.

5. The device of claim 4, in which at least one integrated circuit chip used to drive at least some of said partial fingerprint imagers is also present on the same substrate.

6. The device of claim 5, in which a first integrated circuit chip is used to drive a partial fingerprint imager that is used to construct a fingerprint image, and a second integrated circuit chip is used to drive other partial fingerprint imagers used to derive finger motion information, and in which said first integrated circuit chip has a first input/output port, and said second integrated circuit chip has a separate second input/output port.

7. The device of claim 5 in which the same integrated circuit chip is used to drive one or more partial fingerprint imagers that are used to construct a fingerprint image, and wherein said chip is used to drive at least one other partial fingerprint imager that is used to derive finger motion information, and in which sad integrated circuit chip has a single input/output port for all partial fingerprint imagers.

8. The device of claim 4, in which the substrate is a flexible thin film substrate.

9. The device of claim 8, in which the thin film substrate made from a dielectric material.

10. The device of claim 9, in which the substrate is a polyimide film tape.

11. The device of claim 1, in which the plurality of partial fingerprint imagers are mounted on a surface, and in which said surface is has a texture designed to allow a user to determine the position of at least some of said partial fingerprint imagers by producing a tactile sensation on the underside of the user'"'"'s finger.

12. The device of claim 11, in which the texture comprises one or more bumps on the surface of said device, and wherein the bumps are disposed to coincide with the position of at least some of the partial fingerprint imagers on said surface.

13. The device of claim 11, in which the texture comprises one or more bumps on the surface of said device, and wherein the bumps are disposed to coincide with a center of a circle or other geometric figure that encompasses said partial fingerprint imagers, or with the circumference of a circle or perimeter of another geometric figure that encompasses said partial fingerprint imagers.

14. The device of claim 1, in which at least some of the partial fingerprint imagers are deep finger penetrating radio frequency (RF) based imagers.

15. The device of claim 1, in which at least some of the partial fingerprint imagers are linear sensor arrays configured to sense features of a fingerprint along an axis of finger motion, the linear sensor arrays including a plurality of substantially contiguous sensing elements configured to capture segments of image data;

a memory buffer configured to receive and store image data from the linear sensor array; and

a processing element configured to generate fingerprint motion data for use in navigation.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the linear sensor array is configured to repeatedly sense at least two overlapping line segments of fingerprint data, and wherein the processor is configured to generate motion data based on at least two sensed overlapped line segments of fingerprint data, and navigation or device control data based on relative motion of a fingerprint relative to an object being navigated.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the linear sensor array is configured to sense a first set of features of a fingerprint along an axis of finger motion, and to generate a first set of image data captured by a plurality of substantially contiguous pixels of the sensor array, and is also configured to subsequently sense a second set of features of the fingerprint along an axis of finger motion, and to generate a second set of image data captured by a plurality of substantially contiguous pixels of the sensor array;

and

wherein the processing element is configured to compare said first and second sets of image data to determine the distance traveled by the fingerprint over a time interval, and wherein the distance and time interval are used to calculate navigational data for navigating a cursor on a graphical user interface relative to the motion of a fingerprint across the sensor.

18. The device of claim 15, in which at least some of the linear sensor arrays are deep finger penetrating radio frequency (RF) based imagers.

19. A finger motion tracking device used to detect finger motion in at least two dimensions, comprising:

a plurality of partial fingerprint imagers;

said partial fingerprint imagers being deep finger penetrating radio frequency (RF) based linear sensor arrays;

in which the plurality of partial fingerprint imagers are disposed to detect finger print motion in at least a first direction and a second direction that is different from the first direction; and

in which the plurality of partial fingerprint imagers are mounted on a surface that has a texture designed to allow a user to determine the position of at least some of said partial fingerprint imagers by producing a tactile sensation on the underside of the user'"'"'s finger.

20. The device of claim 19, in which the device is used to control a cursor or a menu on the display screen of a microprocessor or computer controlled device.

21. The device of claim 19, in which the information from at least one of said partial fingerprint imagers is used to construct an image of a fingerprint.

22. The device of claim 19, in which the plurality of partial fingerprint imagers are present on the same substrate.

23. The device of claim 22, in which at least one integrated circuit chip used to drive at least some of said partial fingerprint imagers is also present on the same substrate.

24. The device of claim 23, in which a first integrated circuit chip is used to drive a partial fingerprint imager that is used to construct a fingerprint image, and a second integrated circuit chip is used to drive other partial fingerprint imagers used to derive finger motion information, and in which said first integrated circuit chip has a first input/output port, and said second integrated circuit chip has a separate second input/output port.

25. The device of claim 23 in which the same integrated circuit chip is used to drive one or more partial fingerprint imager that is used to construct a fingerprint image and at least one other partial fingerprint imager that is used to derive finger motion information, and in which sad integrated circuit chip has a single input/output port for all partial fingerprint imagers.

26. The device of claim 23, in which the substrate is a flexible thin film substrate.

27. The device of claim 26, in which the thin film substrate made from a dielectric material.

28. The device of claim 27, in which the substrate is a polyimide film tape.

29. The device of claim 19, in which the texture comprises one or more bumps on the surface of said device, and wherein the bumps are disposed to coincide with the position of at least some of the partial fingerprint imagers on said surface.

30. The device of claim 19, in which the texture comprises one or more bumps on the surface of said device, and wherein the bumps are disposed to coincide with a center of a circle or other geometric figure that encompasses said partial fingerprint imagers, or with the circumference of a circle or perimeter of another geometric figure that encompasses said partial fingerprint imagers.

31. The device of claim 19, wherein the linear sensor arrays are configured to repeatedly sense at least two overlapping line segments of fingerprint data, and wherein the device additionally comprises a processing element configured to generate motion data based on at least two sensed overlapped line segments of fingerprint data and navigation data based on relative motion of a fingerprint relative to an object being navigated.

32. The device of claim 31, wherein the linear sensor array is configured to sense a first set of features of a fingerprint along an axis of finger motion and to generate a first set of image data captured by a plurality of substantially contiguous pixels of the sensor array and is also configured to subsequently sense a second set of features of the fingerprint along an axis of finger motion and to generate a second set of image data captured by a plurality of substantially contiguous pixels of the sensor array;

and

wherein the processing element is configured to compare first and second sets of image data to determine the distance traveled by the fingerprint over a time interval, and wherein the distance and time interval are used to calculate finger motion in at least two dimensions.

33. A method of tracking the two dimensional finger motion of a device operator, said method comprising:

sensing a first motion of the finger by comparing digital data from a first partial fingerprint imager sensor of a series of fingerprint image features with a subsequently sensed series of fingerprint image features and determining the amount of shift between the series of fingerprint image features and the subsequently sensed series of fingerprint image features to determine the distance traveled by the fingerprint across the first sensor; and

sensing a second motion of the finger by comparing digital data from a second partial fingerprint imager sensor of a series of fingerprint image features with a subsequently sensed series of fingerprint image features and determining the amount of shift between the series of fingerprint image features and the subsequently sensed series of fingerprint image features to determine the distance traveled by the fingerprint across the second sensor; and

using the first motion of the finger and the second motion of the finger to calculate the movement of the finger in two dimensions.

34. The method of claim 33, in which the method is used to control a cursor or a menu on the display screen of a microprocessor or computer controlled device.

35. The method of claim 33, in which the information from at least one of said partial fingerprint imagers is also used to construct an image of a fingerprint.

36. The method of claim 33, in which the finger moves over a surface, and in which said surface is has a texture designed to allow a user to determine the position of at least some of said partial fingerprint imagers by producing a tactile sensation on the underside of the user'"'"'s finger.

37. The method of claim 36, in which the texture comprises one or more bumps on the surface of said device, and wherein the bumps are disposed to coincide with the position of at least some of the partial fingerprint imagers on said surface.

38. The method of claim 36, in which the texture comprises one or more bumps on the surface of said device, and wherein the bumps are disposed to coincide with a center of a circle or other geometric figure that encompasses said partial fingerprint imagers, or with the circumference of a circle or perimeter of another geometric figure that encompasses said partial fingerprint imagers.

39. The method of claim 33, in which at least some of the partial fingerprint imagers are deep finger penetrating radio frequency (RF) based imagers.