Combined sensor arrays for relief print imaging

• US 9,563,801 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ib Korea Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Ib Korea Ltd.
• Inventors: Frye, Fred, Weimann, Gerard R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marini, Matthew G
• Application Number:
  US14/962,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20160086011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02 Interferometers
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1318 using electro-optical elements or layers, e.g. electroluminescent sensing
• 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

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for producing a relief print image. Two or more sensor arrays can be combined, and an electroluminescent layer can be deposited over the combined arrays. A resulting scanner component may be able to scan a larger area of a body part at the same time. The scanner may generate a relief print data sets indicative of light from the electroluminescent layer that are received by a first and second sensor array. The scanner can comprise the first and second sensor arrays coupled together, and the sensor arrays can be configured to convert received photons to an electrical signal. The scanner may also comprise the electroluminescent layer disposed on top of the coupled first and second sensor arrays. An image stitching component can stitch together the sets of relief print data, to create relief print image data indicative of a relief print image.

Claims

1. A relief print image generation device, comprising:

a light emitting layer configured to emit photons indicative of at least a portion of a biometric object contacting a biometric scanning surface disposed above the light emitting layer;

a first light sensor array disposed in a light sensing layer disposed beneath the light emitting layer in a path of the emitted photons, the first light sensor array comprising a plurality of light sensors, and configured to receive a first portion of the photons from the light emitting layer;

a second light sensor array disposed in the light sensing layer, the second light sensor array comprising a plurality of light sensors, and configured to receive a second portion of the photons from the light emitting layer at substantially a same time as the first portion of the photons are received by the first light sensor array;

an image generator operably coupled with the light sensing layer and configured to;

receive data indicative of the first portion of photons received by the first light sensor array;

receive data indicative of the second portion of photons received by the second light sensor array; and

generate data indicative of an image of the at least a portion of a biometric object resulting from a combination of the data indicative of the first portion of photons and the data indicative of the second portion of photons.

2. The device of claim 1, the light sensing array comprising a plurality of sensor arrays respectively configured to receive the photons from the light emitting layer indicative of different portions of the biometric object contacting a biometric scanning surface.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein:

the respective sensor arrays are operably coupled to at least one other sensor array and are configured to convert received photons to an electrical signal; and

the image generator is configured to combine together data indicative of respective portions of photons from respective sensor arrays, resulting in the data indicative of the image of the portion of the biometric object.

4. The device of claim 1, the image generator comprising an image stitching component configured to stitch together an image generated from the photons received by the first sensor array and the photons received by the second sensor array, resulting in a combined image indicative of at least two different portions of the biometric object contacting a biometric scanning surface.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the first light sensor array and the second light sensor array comprise one or more of:

a photo-sensitive thin film transistor (TFT);

a thin film photo-diode;

a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor; and

a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor.

6. The device of claim 1, comprising a sensor array substrate adhered beneath a combination of said first sensor array and said second sensor array.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein said sensor array substrate is configured to be shaped to a complimentary biometric object shape.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the first light sensor array and the second light sensor array are further configured to be selectively removed and replaced in the light sensing layer.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of said first sensor array and said second sensor array are further configured to be one or more of:

selectively activated; and

selectively deactivated.

10. The device of claim 1, the light emitting layer comprising:

an electroluminescent layer configured to emit photons in response to an electrical voltage differential;

an electroluminescent layer substrate disposed above a combination of the first light sensor array and the second light sensor array.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the light emitting layer further comprises one or more of:

one or more polarizing layers;

one or more light shielding pattern layers configured to direct incident light in a desired pattern toward the light sensing layer; and

one or more adherence layers configured to adhere a first layer to a second layer.

12. The device of claim 1, the biometric scanning surface comprising a protective layer disposed over the light emitting layer, the protective layer comprising one or more of:

an abrasion resistive layer;

a liquid resistive layer; and

a shock resistive layer.

13. A method for manufacturing a device for producing a biometric relief print image, comprising:

operably coupling a first light sensor and a second light sensor, resulting in a light sensing layer, configured to receive a first portion of photons from a light emitting layer and receive a second portion of photons from the light emitting layer at substantially as same time

disposing a light emitting layer over the light sensing layer such that the light sensing layer lies in a path of photons emitted from the light emitting layer, the light emitting layer configured to emit photons indicative of at least a portion of a biometric object contacting a biometric scanning surface disposed over the light emitting layer; and

operably coupling the light emitting layer to an image generator configured to;

receive data indicative of the first portion of photons received by the first light sensor array;

receive data indicative of the second portion of photons received by the second light sensor array; and

generate data indicative of an image of the at least a portion of a biometric object resulting from a combination of the data indicative of the first portion of photons and the data indicative of the second portion of photons.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising one or more of:

forming a plurality of first sensors over a first sensor array substrate, resulting in the first light sensor array; and

forming a plurality of second sensors over a second sensor array substrate, resulting in the second light sensor array.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising forming the light emitting layer, comprising, depositing an electroluminescent layer on an electroluminescent layer substrate disposed over, and one or more of:

depositing one or more polarizing layers on the light emitting layer;

depositing one or more light shielding pattern layers, configured to direct incident light in a desired pattern toward one or more of the first light sensor array and said second light sensor array, on the light emitting layer; and

utilizing one or more adherence layers to adhere at least two layers in the light emitting layer.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising depositing a protective layer over the light emitting layer to be utilized as the biometric scanning surface, the protective layer comprising one or more of:

an abrasion resistive layer;

a liquid resistive layer; and

a shock resistive layer.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising forming combined light sensing layer and the light emitting layer into a complimentary biometric object shape.

18. A system for producing a biometric relief print image, comprising:

a light emitting layer comprising an electroluminescent layer configured to emit photons indicative of at least a portion of a biometric object contacting a biometric scanning surface disposed above the light emitting layer;

a light sensing layer disposed beneath the light emitting layer in a path of the emitted photons, the light sensing layer comprising;

a first light sensor array comprising a plurality of light sensors configured to receive a first portion of the photons from the light emitting layer; and

a second light sensor array comprising a plurality of light sensors configured to receive a second portion of the photons from the light emitting layer at substantially a same time as the first portion of the photons are received by the first light sensor array; and

an image generator operably coupled with the light sensing layer and configured to;

generate data indicative of a first image resulting from the first portion of photons received by the first light sensor array;

generate data indicative of a second image resulting from the second portion of photons received by the second light sensor array; and

stitch together the data indicative of the first image and the data indicative of the second image, resulting in data indicative of a third image representing the at least a portion of a biometric object.

19. The system of claim 18, the first light sensor array and the second light sensor array comprising a plurality of thin film sensors configured to detect direct light emitted from the light emitting layer.

20. The system of claim 18, the biometric scanning surface comprising one or more of:

an abrasion resistive layer;

a liquid resistive layer; and

a shock resistive layer.