Background Enrollment and Authentication of a User

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016203306-A1
Application number	US-201615075676-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 21, 2016
Priority date	Sep 9, 2013
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device can include a processing device operatively connected to a biometric sensing device. The biometric sensing device may capture a biometric image each time a user interacts with the electronic device. When the user enters user identification data (UID) and a biometric image was recently captured, the biometric image is tagged with the UID. The user can access the electronic device and/or an application being accessed on the electronic device when a subsequently captured biometric image matches a tagged biometric image or an untagged biometric image that is assigned to a cluster that includes a tagged biometric image.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for authenticating a user of an electronic device that includes a biometric sensing device, the method comprising:
capturing, in the background, at a first time a first biometric image as the user interacts with the electronic device; receiving first user identification data (UID) from the user as the user interacts with the electronic device; tagging the first biometric image with the first UID when the first biometric image and the first UID are received within a given time period of each other; if the first biometric image and the first UID are received within a given time period of each other, assigning the tagged first biometric image to a cluster, wherein the cluster comprises one or more biometric images associated with a respective biometric attribute of the user; if the first biometric image and the first UID are not received within a given time period of each other, assigning the untagged first biometric image to the cluster; capturing, in the background, at a second time a second biometric image as the user interacts with the electronic device; determining if the second biometric image matches the first biometric image in the cluster; and providing the user with automatic access to the electronic device or to an application on the electronic device only when the second biometric image matches the first biometric image and the first biometric image is tagged with the first UID.

2 . The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:
assigning the second biometric image to the cluster when the second biometric image matches the first biometric image in the cluster; capturing, in the background, at a third time a third biometric image as the user interacts with the electronic device; determining if the third biometric image matches either the first biometric image or the second biometric image in the cluster; and providing the user with automatic access to the electronic device or to an application on the electronic device only when the third biometric image matches the first biometric image and the first biometric image is tagged with the first UID.

3 . The method as in claim 1 , wherein the first and second biometric images each comprise a fingerprint image.

4 . The method as in claim 1 , further comprising tagging the second biometric image with a second UID when the second UID and the second biometric image are received within a given time period of each other.

5 . The method as in claim 4 , further comprising assigning the tagged second biometric image to the cluster when the second biometric image matches the first biometric image in the cluster.

6 . The method as in claim 4 , further comprising assigning the untagged second biometric image to the cluster when the second UID and the biometric image are not received within the given time period and the untagged second biometric image matches the first biometric image in the cluster.

7 . The method as in claim 4 , wherein the second UID and the first UID comprise the same UID.

8 . The method as in claim 4 , further comprising assigning the second biometric image tagged with the second UID to a second cluster when the second biometric image does not match the first biometric image.

9 . The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:
prior to assigning the first biometric image tagged with the first UID to the cluster, determining if a maximum number of biometric images have been assigned to the cluster; selecting one or more biometric images to be deleted when the maximum number of biometric images have been assigned to the cluster; and deleting at least one biometric image from the cluster.

10 . The method as in claim 9 , wherein at least one biometric image is selected to be deleted based on an amount of contribution the at least one biometric image contributes to the cluster.

11 . The method as in claim 1 , further comprising:
repeatedly capturing, in the background, biometric images as the user interacts with the electronic device; repeatedly tagging each biometric image with a respective UID when the respective UID and a respective biometric image are received within the given time period of each other; storing each tagged or untagged biometric image in the first cluster when the tagged or untagged biometric image matches the first biometric image in the cluster; and storing each tagged or untagged biometric image in at least one different cluster when the tagged or untagged biometric image does not match the first biometric image in the cluster.

12 . The method as in claim 11 , further comprising:
determining whether the cluster and another cluster each include a biometric image tagged with the same UID; if so, determining whether one of the two clusters includes a biometric image tagged with a different UID; and migrating the different UID into the cluster that does not include the different UID.

13 . An electronic device, comprising:
a processing device; a biometric sensing device operatively connected to the processing device, wherein the biometric sensing device is configured to capture, in the background, biometric images as a user interacts with the electronic device and the processing device is configured to receive user identification data (UID) from the user as the user interacts with the electronic device and tag at least one of the biometric images with the UID when the at least one biometric image and the UID are received within a given time period of each other; and a memory operatively connected to the processing device and to the biometric sensing device, the memory configured to store the tagged at least one biometric image in a cluster, the cluster comprising one or more biometric images associated with a respective biometric attribute of the user.

14 . The electronic device as in claim 13 , wherein the biometric sensing device comprises a fingerprint sensor.

15 . The electronic device as in claim 14 , wherein the fingerprint sensor is included in a button on the electronic device.

16 . The electronic device as in claim 14 , further comprising a display operatively connected to the processing device, wherein the fingerprint sensor is included in at least a portion of the display.

17 . A method for authenticating multiple users of an electronic device that includes a biometric sensing device, the method comprising:
capturing, in the background, a first biometric image as a first user interacts with the electronic device; receiving first user identification data (UID) from the user as the user interacts with the electronic device; tagging the first biometric image with the first UID when the first biometric image and the first UID are received within a given time period of each other; assigning the first biometric image tagged with the first UID to a first cluster associated with the first user, wherein the first cluster comprises the first biometric image tagged with the first UID and an untagged biometric image associated with the first user; capturing, in the background, a second biometric image as the first user interacts with the electronic device; and providing the first user with automatic access to the electronic device or to an application on the electronic device only when the second biometric image matches the first biometric image tagged with the first UID.

18 . The method as in claim 17 , further comprising:
receiving a second UID from the first user as the first user interacts with the electronic device; tagging the second biometric image with the second UID

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Boshra Michael

Classifications

• G06V10/762

  using clustering, e.g. of similar faces in social networks · CPC title

• G06F18/23

  Clustering techniques · CPC title

• G07C9/37

  using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition · CPC title

• G07C9/257

  electronically (G07C9/26 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F21/32 Primary

  using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints · CPC title