Bio-metric input mechanism

• US 7,725,511 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Kadi, Zafer
• Primary Examiner(s): Malzahn; David H
• Application Number:
  US11/096,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20060224645A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,881 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 708/145
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0238 Programmable keyboards key guide holders G06F3/0224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition

Abstract

A biometric keyboard or other input device, such as a keypad or touch screen, may be part of an input mechanism for inputting user information to a computing system. The mechanism may include biometric sensors associated with the buttons or keys of the input device. A mapping scheme may be used such that the input value forwarded to a processing resource when a user activates one or more of the buttons or keys varies depending on which digit (finger, toe, etc.) was used to activate the key(s) or button(s). Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

an input mechanism to receive input from a user based on user activation of the mechanism with one or more digits of the user'"'"'s body;

a recognition module to identify which digit of a plurality of identifiable digits was used to activate the mechanism; and

a mapping module to determine an input value, based on the identified digit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the mapping module is further to forward the value to an execution resource.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input mechanism further comprises:

M elements that may be activated by the user.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:

each of the M elements is a button.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein:

each of the M elements is a graphically-displayed area of a touch screen.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the input mechanism further comprises:

a biometric sensor for each of the M elements.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the input mechanism is a keypad.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the input mechanism is a keyboard.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the recognition module is further to identify a second digit used to activate the input mechanism.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

the mapping module is further to determine the input value based on both the digit and the second digit.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input mechanism further comprises:

one or more biometric sensors.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving biometric data from a sensor associated with a button of an input device;

identifying a digit of a plurality of identifiable human digits sensed by said sensor based on the biometric data; and

determining a unique input value for the button, digit pair.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

forwarding the input value to an execution resource.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the execution resource is a processor core.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein determining an input value further comprises:

performing a lockup in a mapping table.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the input device further comprises a plurality of M buttons.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein:

said determining a unique input value further comprises selecting from among at least N values for the button, where N represents a number of user digits.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

N further represents a number of user fingers.

19. An article comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a plurality of machine accessible instructions, wherein, when the instructions are executed by a processor, the instructions provide for:

receiving biometric data from a sensor associated with a button of an input device;

identifying a digit of a plurality of identifiable human digits sensed by said sensor based on the biometric data; and

determining an input value associated with the button, based on the digit identity.

20. The article of claim 19, wherein the instructions further provide for, when executed by the processor:

forwarding the input value to an execution resource.

21. The article of claim 19, wherein the instructions that provide for determining an input value further comprise instructions that provide for:

performing a lookup in a mapping table.

22. The article of claim 19, wherein the instructions that provide for determining an input value further comprise instructions that provide for:

selecting from among at least N values for the button, where N represents a number of user digits.

23. The article of claim 22, wherein:

further represents a number of user fingers.

24. A system, comprising:

an input device having M buttons capable of activation by one or more user digits;

an execution resource coupled to the input device; and

a memory system coupled to the execution resource;

wherein said memory system is to store one or more instructions that provide for identifying one or more user digits that have been used to activate one or more of the M buttons; and

wherein said memory system is further to store one or more instructions that provide for determining an input value based on the one or more identified digits and the one or more activated buttons.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising:

an output device coupled to the execution resource.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein:

said output device is a display screen.

27. The system of claim 24, further comprising:

an antenna coupled to the execution resource.

28. The system of claim 24, wherein:

said memory system is further to store one or more instructions for receiving and storing biometric data for one or more user digits.

29. The system of claim 24, wherein:

said memory system is further to store one or more mapping tables to map input values to digit/button pairs.

30. The system of claim 24, wherein:

said memory system further comprises a DRAM.

31. The system of claim 24, wherein:

said input device is a key pad.

32. The system of claim 24, wherein:

said input device is a keyboard.

33. The system of claim 24, wherein:

said input device is a touch screen.

34. The system of claim 24, further comprising:

a casing, wherein said casing houses said execution resource and said memory system.

35. The system of claim 24, further comprising:

a two-part clamshell casing, wherein a first portion of said casing houses said execution resource and said memory system; and

wherein a second part of said casing bears the output device, the output device being a display screen.