The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent for another biometric methodology relating to a user’s Palm ID to authenticate access to a portable device using Apple’s famed notch cameras, dot projector and a palm biometric sensor.
Technically, Apple’s granted patent cover electronic devices that may also include a palm biometric image sensor layer beneath the display layer and configured to sense an image of a user’s palm positioned above the display layer based upon light reflected from the user’s palm passing through the light transmissive portions of the display layer.
The electronic device, such as an iPhone, may further include a controller configured to capture image data from the user’s palm in cooperation with the palm biometric image sensor layer and determine a surface distortion of the user’s palm based upon the image data. The controller may also be configured to perform a biometric authentication of the user’s palm based upon the image data and the surface distortion.
The palm biometric image sensing layer may include a substrate, a photodiode layer on the substrate, and a narrowing field of view layer above the photodiode layer, for example. The palm biometric image sensing layer may include a substrate, a photodiode layer on the substrate, and a focusing layer above the photodiode layer, for example. The electronic device may further include an infrared light source, and the controller may be configured to determine palm vein data from the image data resulting from the infrared light source.
The controller may be configured to perform the biometric authentication based upon comparing palm vein data to stored palm vein data, for example. The electronic device may include a flood light source, and the controller may be configured to determine palm crease data from the image data resulting from the flood light source.
