Qualcomm Incorporated

Rakesh Pallerla

Naga Chandan Babu Gudivada

Prakash Tiwari

Kritpal Singh Dhindhsa

Hrishikesh Vijaykumar Panchawagh

Raj Kumar

Vishnu Vardhan Kasilya Sudarsan

Suzana Arellano

Javier Frydman

Livingstone Song

Balamukund Sripada

Sumeet Kumar Sahu

Nirma Lnu

Chandrika Singasani

Mohamed Sunfeer

Satish Begumpeta

Methods, devices and systems for controlling an active fingerprint sensor area of a fingerprint sensor system are disclosed. In some examples, the one or more active fingerprint sensor area criteria may involve, or correspond to, a security level. The security level may correspond to a data security level, a software application security level, or a combination thereof. According to some examples, controlling the active fingerprint sensor area may involve activating a relatively larger fingerprint sensor area for a relatively higher security level. Alternatively, or additionally, the one or more active fingerprint sensor area criteria may correspond to a fingerprint sensor area used for obtaining fingerprint sensor data from one or more digits involved in an enrollment process, the size of one or more digits used during the enrollment process, the size of one or more digits used for one or more recent authentication attempts, or combinations thereof.

Controlling an active fingerprint sensor area

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for determining whether either a first authorized user has accessed an apparatus within a time interval or whether a condition is met. In some examples, responsive to determining that the first authorized user has not accessed the apparatus within a time interval or that the condition is met, a second authorized user may be allowed at least partial access to the apparatus.

Conditional device access for one or more additional authorized users

A method may involve obtaining a latent fingerprint on a surface, storing the latent fingerprint, obtaining a live fingerprint on the surface, and authenticating the live fingerprint based in part on the stored latent fingerprint and in part on previously-authenticated fingerprint data. The method may involve rejecting authentication of the live fingerprint as a potential spoof, if the live fingerprint matches the latent fingerprint under a relatively strict correlation test. The method may also involve, when the live fingerprint doesn't closely match the latent fingerprint, granting authentication of the live fingerprint if the live fingerprint matches the previously-authenticated fingerprint data under a relatively loose correlation test.

Fingerprint sensor with detection of latent fingerprints

Some disclosed methods involve controlling a fingerprint sensor system to scan a portion of a user's digit and obtaining fingerprint image data corresponding to the portion of the user's digit. Some such methods involve obtaining defect data identifying one or more defective areas corresponding to an active fingerprint sensor area and determining whether the defect data indicates one or more defective areas corresponding to a touched portion of the active fingerprint sensor area from which the fingerprint image data were obtained. Some such methods involve determining, responsive to determining that the defect data indicates one or more defective areas corresponding to the touched portion, whether fingerprint image data corresponding to the one or more defective areas can be rectified and, responsive to determining that the fingerprint image data can be rectified, rectifying the fingerprint image data corresponding to the one or more defective areas.

Dynamic rectification of fingerprint image portions corresponding to defects

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for use with expandable displays. In some implementations management techniques and/or systems are provided that allow for access to expandable display functionality to be managed to as to potentially prolong device battery life. In other or additional implementations, techniques and/or systems are provided for potentially safeguarding devices with expandable displays from damage in the event of a fall or drop event. In yet other or additional implementations, techniques and/or systems are provided for determining the expansion state of an expandable display, thereby allowing corrective measures to be taken if the actual expansion state of the expandable display does not align with the expected expansion state of the expandable display.

Systems, techniques, and other implementations for expandable display management

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors that are able to be used to detect fingerprints from opposing sides of an apparatus, e.g., a smartphone with screens on both sides of the housing. Some implementations of such sensors may include, for example, two piezoelectric and sensor pixel layer assemblies coupled to a common controller. Other implementations of such sensors may include, for example, a single piezoelectric and sensor pixel assembly coupled with a controller configured to apply a range-gate delay to obtain fingerprint scans from either opposing side of an apparatus. Yet further implementations of such sensors may include acoustic masking layers to spatially filter ultrasonic waves propagating to either side of an apparatus.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technologies and methods for bi-directional fingerprint sensing

In one example, a method comprises: receiving an indication that an object is within a distance from an array of ultrasonic transducers; based on the indication, configuring a subset of the array of ultrasonic transducers to perform an ultrasonic sensing operation on the object; obtaining, from the subset of the array of ultrasonic transducers, an output of the ultrasonic sensing operation; and performing an action based on the output of the ultrasonic sensing operation.

Ultrasonic sensing

Some disclosed methods involve controlling a fingerprint sensor system to scan a portion of a user's digit on a surface of an apparatus using a plurality of trial fingerprint sensor system parameters and selecting, from among the trial fingerprint sensor system parameters, one or more personalized fingerprint sensor system parameters for inclusion in a set of personalized fingerprint sensor system parameters. Some disclosed methods involve selecting, based on the one or more personalized fingerprint sensor system parameters, an existing fingerprint sensor system parameter data structure that includes a set of existing fingerprint sensor system parameters, obtaining additional fingerprint sensor system parameters from the set of existing fingerprint sensor system parameters for inclusion in the set of personalized fingerprint sensor system parameters, and storing the set of personalized fingerprint sensor system parameters for future scans of the fingerprint sensor system.

Personalized fingerprint sensor system parameters

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors that feature an ultrasonic transmitter and multiple subsets of ultrasonic sensor pixels, each subset of ultrasonic sensor pixels associated with a different ultrasonically sensitive display surface, at least two of which are non-coplanar with one another. In some implementations, the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces may be provided by different portions of a flexible display that has been flexed into a configuration in which two or more portions thereof are non-coplanar. In some instances, a controller may be provided that selectively reads ultrasonic sensor signals from subset(s) of the ultrasonic sensor pixels that are associated with the ultrasonically sensitive display surfaces that a touch-sensing system indicates are experiencing touch events.

Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technologies and methods for multi-surface displays

In some implementations a method may involve presenting a graphical user interface in a first configuration on a display of an apparatus. The first configuration may correspond with a first display area. The method may involve enabling operation of a fingerprint sensor system in a first fingerprint sensor area corresponding with at least a portion of the first display area. The method may involve presenting the graphical user interface in a second configuration on the display and enabling fingerprint sensor system operation only in a second fingerprint sensor area corresponding with the second configuration.

Adaptive activation of fingerprint sensor areas

Some disclosed methods involve controlling, via a control system of an apparatus, a touch sensor system to obtain touch sensor data in a touch sensor system active area of the apparatus. Some disclosed methods involve controlling, via the control system, a fingerprint sensor system of the apparatus to obtain fingerprint sensor data in a fingerprint sensor system active area of the apparatus. Some disclosed methods involve determining, via the control system and based on the touch sensor data, n touch locations corresponding to n last user touches and controlling, via the control system, a size of the touch sensor system active area based, at least in part, on the n touch locations.

Power saving for large-area sensor

Some disclosed methods involve maintaining a data structure that includes historical fingerprint location data. The historical fingerprint location data may include information corresponding to prior instances of fingerprint image data obtained from each of a plurality of fingerprint sensor areas. Some such methods involve identifying, based at least in part on the historical fingerprint location data, a selected fingerprint sensor area, providing a user prompt to place a digit within or on the selected fingerprint sensor area, and obtaining current fingerprint image data of the digit from the selected fingerprint sensor area. In some examples, the historical fingerprint location data indicate a number of prior instances during which prior fingerprint image data has been obtained from each fingerprint sensor area of the plurality of fingerprint sensor areas. In some such examples, the identifying is based, at least in part, on the number of prior instances.

System for managing a fingerprint sensor

Some disclosed methods involve randomly or pseudo-randomly selecting one fingerprint authentication case from a plurality of fingerprint authentication cases stored in a memory, each of the fingerprint authentication cases corresponding to one or more fingerprints used during an authentication process, the fingerprint authentication cases including a plurality of multiple-fingerprint authentication cases for which two or more fingerprints are used during the authentication process. Upon determining that the selected fingerprint authentication case is a multiple-fingerprint authentication case, some methods involve controlling a display system to provide a multiple-fingerprint authentication graphical user interface (GUI) indicating at least two digit placement areas corresponding with a fingerprint sensor system area of a fingerprint sensor system, controlling the fingerprint sensor system to obtain fingerprint sensor data corresponding to each of the at least two digit placement areas and performing the authentication process based, at least in part, on the fingerprint sensor data.

Randomized multi-fingerprint authentication

A method may include prompting a user to place their finger within a given sub-region of a fingerprint sensing surface and then obtaining the user's fingerprint. The given sub-region may be selected based on a determined or estimated probability that the given sub-region contains a latent fingerprint. As examples, the given sub-region may be determined randomly, pseudo-randomly, or based on information in a log of historical touch and/or fingerprint locations. The method may further involve tracking which sub-regions of the fingerprint sensing surface may potentially have latent fingerprints. The method may involve prompting the user to wipe one or more sub-regions of the fingerprint sensing surface when more than a predetermined fraction of the fingerprint-sensing surface has been used to obtain fingerprint images.

Growing community of inventors

Hyderabad Telangana, India

Rakesh Pallerla