Electronic device including sub-array based deblurring of a blurred finger image and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9741101-B2
Application number	US-201615235565-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 12, 2016
Priority date	Aug 6, 2013
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device may include a finger biometric sensor that includes an array of electric field sensing pixels and image data output circuitry coupled thereto and capable of processing the image data from each of sub-arrays of the array of electric field sensing pixels. The electronic device may also include a dielectric layer over the array of electric field sensing pixels and causing electric field diffusion so that the image data output circuitry generates image data corresponding to a blurred finger image. The electronic device also includes deblurring circuitry coupled to the image data output circuitry and capable of processing the image data from each of the plurality of sub-arrays of the array of electric field sensing pixels to produce processed image data representative of a deblurred finger image.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a finger biometric sensor comprising a plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels;
a dielectric layer over the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels and causing blurred finger image data; and
deblurring circuitry coupled to the finger biometric sensor and configured to
store a plurality of deblurring coefficients, and
process the blurred finger image data using the plurality of deblurring coefficients to produce deblurred finger image data.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of deblurring coefficients comprises a respective set of deblurring coefficients for each of a plurality of different deblurring functions.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the deblurring circuitry is configured to process the blurred finger image data based upon a respective deblurring function for each sub-array of electric field sensing pixels.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels define an array having a border; and wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels comprises at least one border sub-array of sensing pixels adjacent to the border.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels define an array having a border; and wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels comprises at least one internal sub-array of sensing pixels spaced inwardly from the border.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the blurred finger image data is based upon a diffusion function; and wherein the deblurring circuitry is configured to process the blurred finger image data in accordance with respective different deblurring functions for each of the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels based upon the diffusion function.

7. The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the diffusion function comprises a Gaussian function and the respective deblurring functions each comprises an inverse Gaussian function.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer has a non-uniform thickness.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the deblurring circuitry comprises a deblurring processor and memory coupled thereto.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the finger biometric sensor further comprises drive circuitry coupled to the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the finger biometric sensor comprises a finger coupling electrode adjacent the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels and coupled to the drive circuitry.

12. A method for finger biometric sensing comprising:
operating a finger biometric sensor comprising a plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels and a dielectric layer thereover causing blurred finger image data; and
processing the blurred finger image data using a plurality of stored deblurring coefficients to produce deblurred finger image data.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of deblurring coefficients comprises a respective set of deblurring coefficients for each of a plurality of different deblurring functions.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein processing comprises processing the blurred finger image data based upon a respective deblurring function for each sub-array of sensing pixels.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels define an array having a border; and wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels comprises at least one border sub-array of sensing pixels adjacent to the border.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels define an array having a border; and wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels comprises at least one internal sub-array of sensing pixels spaced inwardly from the border.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the blurred finger image data is based upon a diffusion function; and wherein processing comprises processing the blurred finger image data in accordance with respective different deblurring functions for each of the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels based upon the diffusion function.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the diffusion function comprises a Gaussian function and the respective deblurring functions each comprises an inverse Gaussian function.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium for finger biometric processing, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions configured to perform operations comprising:
operating a finger biometric sensor comprising a plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels and a dielectric layer thereover causing blurred finger image data; and
processing the blurred finger image data using a plurality of stored deblurring coefficients to produce deblurred finger image data.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of deblurring coefficients comprises a respective set of deblurring coefficients for each of a plurality of different deblurring functions.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20 , wherein processing comprises processing the blurred finger image data based upon a respective deblurring function for each sub-array of sensing pixels.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels define an array having a border; and wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels comprises at least one border sub-array of sensing pixels adjacent to the border.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels define an array having a border; and
wherein the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels comprises at least one internal sub-array of sensing pixels spaced inwardly from the border.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the blurred finger image data is based upon a diffusion function; and wherein processing comprises processing the blurred finger image data in accordance with respective different deblurring functions for each of the plurality of sub-arrays of sensing pixels based upon the diffusion function.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the diffusion function comprises a Gaussian function and the respective deblurring functions each comprises an inverse Gaussian function.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Setlak Dale R
• Subert Martin
• Konopka Ondrej
• Kohout Petr
• Mrazek Pavel
• Gozzini Giovanni

Classifications

• G06V40/1306 Primary

  non-optical, e.g. ultrasonic or capacitive sensing · CPC title

• G06K9/00006

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06K9/00013

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06T5/003 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06K9/0002

  Physics · mapped topic