IP Verse

Communication Device To Sense One Or More Biometric Characteristics Of A User

Patent No. US12314915 (titled "Communication Device To Sense One Or More Biometric Characteristics Of A User") was filed by Biosonics Technology Llc on Feb 24, 2023.

What is this patent about?

’915 is related to the field of portable electronic devices, specifically those that can sense biometric characteristics. The background acknowledges the prevalence of magnetic stripe cards and the increasing capabilities of portable devices like smartphones. The invention aims to combine the functionalities of both while enhancing security and robustness against environmental factors.

The underlying idea behind ’915 is to integrate biometric sensing capabilities directly into a communication device, such as a credit card, by layering output and input pixel elements beneath the device's exterior surface. This allows the device to emit signals (light or sound) towards the user, receive reflections of those signals containing biometric information, and process that information for authentication or other purposes. The key insight is to use overlapping pixel layers to achieve this functionality within a compact form factor.

The claims of ’915 focus on a communication device with a cover structure, a layer of display light emitting output pixel elements, and a plurality of biometric input and output pixel elements. These biometric pixels are configured to emit signals towards the user and receive reflected signals, thereby sensing biometric characteristics. Claim 18 adds light collimators to improve the quality of the biometric input.

In practice, the device would work by emitting light or sound from the output pixel elements, which then interacts with the user's skin or other biometric features. The reflected or altered signal is then captured by the input pixel elements. A processor analyzes this data to identify the user or verify their identity. The use of piezoelectric elements allows for both emitting and receiving sound, adding another dimension to the biometric sensing.

This approach differs from prior solutions by integrating biometric sensing directly into the device's display and surface, rather than relying on separate sensors or external devices. The overlapping pixel arrangement allows for a high density of sensors and emitters without increasing the device's overall size. The use of light collimators further enhances the accuracy and reliability of the biometric sensing by focusing the emitted and received signals.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the early 2010s when ’915 was filed, portable electronic devices commonly relied on capacitive touchscreens and physical buttons for user input. At a time when biometric authentication was typically implemented using fingerprint sensors or cameras, integrating multiple biometric input and output modalities into a single device was non-trivial. When systems commonly relied on dedicated hardware components for specific functions, combining display capabilities with biometric sensing within a compact form factor presented engineering constraints.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner approved the application because the applicant described a biometric communication device with a cover structure, a layer of display light emitting output pixel elements, and biometric output and input pixel elements. The biometric output pixel elements provide an output through the exterior surface toward the user, and the biometric input pixel elements receive a reflected biometric input from the user. The examiner stated that these limitations, in conjunction with other limitations in the claims, were not shown by the prior art.

Claims

This patent contains 19 claims, with independent claims 1, 12, and 18. The independent claims are directed to a communication device configured to sense biometric characteristics of a user, employing various arrangements of display, output, and biometric input pixel elements within a cover structure. The dependent claims generally elaborate on specific features, configurations, and functionalities of the communication device described in the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Biometric input pixel elements
(Claim 1, Claim 12, Claim 18)		“In an exemplary embodiment, there are plural layers associated with essentially the whole of the face or first major surface 101 of card 100 and alternatively, the faces of both sides of card 100, i.e., first major surface 101 and second major surface 102. Card 100 may have a way, in addition to cell-dock software as shown, to create handshake routines etc. Among the plurality of layers may be, and in the order shown, an LED (Surface mount) layer, a CCD layer (Just below or offset from the LED layer), and a MAG OUT/IN layer (again, just below/under the CCD layer, and no need to offset from either CCD or LED, but, may act on tiny crystals with dopant causing the crystals to change opaqueness in presence of a magnetic field; e.g., see”Pixel elements positioned below the exterior surface, configured to receive a reflected biometric input passing from the user through the exterior surface, where the biometric input pixel elements are at least one of light detecting pixel elements and piezoelectric-in pixel elements.
Cover structure
(Claim 1, Claim 12, Claim 18)		“background, the opaque layer may cover a greater extent, possibly including the entire area of card 100 under the display, e.g., substantially the entire first major surface 101 and/or the entire second major surface 102. Thus, these same attributes may apply to both sides of card 100.”A structure including an exterior surface.
Display light emitting output pixel elements
(Claim 1)		“In an exemplary embodiment, there are plural layers associated with essentially the whole of the face or first major surface 101 of card 100 and alternatively, the faces of both sides of card 100, i.e., first major surface 101 and second major surface 102. Card 100 may have a way, in addition to cell-dock software as shown, to create handshake routines etc. Among the plurality of layers may be, and in the order shown, an LED (Surface mount) layer, a CCD layer (Just below or offset from the LED layer), and a MAG OUT/IN layer (again, just below/under the CCD layer, and no need to offset from either CCD or LED, but, may act on tiny crystals with dopant causing the crystals to change opaqueness in presence of a magnetic field; e.g., see”A layer of pixel elements positioned below the exterior surface of the cover structure, used to display images through the exterior surface.
Light collimators
(Claim 18)		“A card according to the present disclosure can emit light, sense light, and collect information related to the sensed light across at least substantially the entire major planar surfaces of the card; that is, a substantial portion of the major surfaces throughout their entire extent. In the context of this disclosure, the phrase “at least substantially” may, in one embodiment, mean the entire first major surface, with an edge margin limited by manufacturing capability, or in another embodiment may mean a significant portion of the first major surface, such as at least 90% of the major surface. In yet another embodiment, the term “at least substantially” may also include going from a first edge to a second edge in one direction, limited only by manufacturing capability, and a spaced distance away from a third edge and a fourth edge in a second direction that is perpendicular to the one direction, while encompassing most of the first major surface, for example, at least 90% of the first major surface.”Elements extending from the cover structure through at least one of the layer of output pixel elements and the layer of biometric input pixel elements.
Output pixel elements
(Claim 1, Claim 12, Claim 18)		“In an exemplary embodiment, there are plural layers associated with essentially the whole of the face or first major surface 101 of card 100 and alternatively, the faces of both sides of card 100, i.e., first major surface 101 and second major surface 102. Card 100 may have a way, in addition to cell-dock software as shown, to create handshake routines etc. Among the plurality of layers may be, and in the order shown, an LED (Surface mount) layer, a CCD layer (Just below or offset from the LED layer), and a MAG OUT/IN layer (again, just below/under the CCD layer, and no need to offset from either CCD or LED, but, may act on tiny crystals with dopant causing the crystals to change opaqueness in presence of a magnetic field; e.g., see”Pixel elements configured to provide an output in a direction through the exterior surface toward the user, where the output pixel elements are at least one of light emitting pixel elements and piezoelectric-out pixel elements.

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US12314915

BIOSONICS TECHNOLOGY LLC
Application Number
US18174562
Filing Date
Feb 24, 2023
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Sep 9, 2033
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents