The present invention relates to a fingerprint sensor, and more particularly to a method for switching among a plurality of operation modes of a fingerprint sensor, electronic apparatus using the same, and the fingerprint sensor thereof.
As the laptop and other portable mobile communication apparatus become more and more common, the requirements for the data security has been also raised. Therefore, the prior art of electronic apparatus incorporating a fingerprint sensor provides operators to proceed the biometric verification of fingerprint. Only the authorized users can access to the electronic apparatus, and therefore the object of security is achieved.
The fingerprint sensor of the prior art not only has the function of fingerprint recognition, but also the navigation function. For example, the Taiwan Patent Number 504,652 discloses a method for controlling the mouse cursor using the fingerprint recognition system, in which not only provides the function of fingerprint recognition, but also allows the fingerprint sensor to control the mouse cursor in accordance with the physical movement of user's finger on the fingerprint sensor. The Taiwan Patent Application, Publication Number 200629127, also discloses a mouse device having fingerprint detecting and dual scrollbar function, and method for controlling the scrollbar, in which a fingerprint sensor is disposed on the mouse device to authenticate user's identity as a base to securely access the computer, and meanwhile it can also be the input interface to control the scrollbar when using the fingerprint apparatus to operate the computer.
However, the perspective of the fingerprint sensor of the prior art, are mostly implemented for identification recognition when turning on an electronic apparatus or logging onto an operating system. After logging, several operation modes are provided as using the cursor or scrollbar. If the users need to switch their operation mode among several operation modes, he/she needs to manually operate complicated setting in software. Therefore, it is inconvenience for operators to use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for switching among a plurality of operation modes of a fingerprint sensor. The method comprises the following steps; activating the fingerprint sensor; switching to one of the plurality of operation modes as a current operation mode of the fingerprint sensor according to a default operation mode setting; detecting an input signal from the fingerprint sensor; and switching to another one of the plurality of operation modes as a new current operation mode of the fingerprint sensor when the input signal is a mode switching hotkey.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fingerprint sensor, comprising: a fingerprint sensing module for sensing the fingerprint and for generating an input signal; and a keypad structure, disposed below the fingerprint sensing module, for generating a pressed signal when the keypad structure is pressed by an external force; wherein the fingerprint sensor has a plurality of operation modes, and the pressed signal is used as a mode switching hotkey for switching among the plurality of operation modes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fingerprint sensor having a plurality of operation modes. The fingerprint sensor comprises: a fingerprint sensing module for sensing the fingerprint and for generating an input signal; and a signal processing module, for determining whether the input signal is a multi-click signal; wherein when the input signal is a multi-click signal, the fingerprint sensor switches the operation mode among the plurality of operation modes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus, comprising: an operating system; and a fingerprint sensor with a plurality of operation modes to operate the operating system. The fingerprint sensor comprises: a fingerprint sensing module for sensing the fingerprint and for generating an input signal; and a keypad structure, disposed below the fingerprint sensing module, for generating a pressed signal when the keypad structure is pressed by an external force; wherein the pressed signal is used as a mode switching hotkey for switching among the plurality of operation modes.
Lastly, another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus, comprising: an operating system; and a fingerprint sensor with a plurality of operation modes. The fingerprint sensor comprises: a fingerprint sensing module for sensing the fingerprint and for generating an input signal; and a signal processing module, for detecting weather the input signal is a multi-click signal or not; wherein when the input signal is a multi-click signal, the fingerprint sensor switches the operation mode among the plurality of operation modes.
The forgoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawing, and the same referring numerals are used for the same components in accordance with the present invention.
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If the input signal is not a mode switching hotkey, the function corresponding to the input signal of the current operation mode is performed, in step S205, and then the step S203 is executed again for waiting another input signal.
If the input signal is a mode switching hotkey, it indicated that the user wants to change the current operation mode of the fingerprint sensor, then the information of another operation mode prompted, in step S206, and then the fingerprint sensor is switched to the another one of the plurality of operation modes as a new current operation mode in step S207, and then step S203 is executed again for waiting another input signal.
In the embodiment 20, the mode switching hotkey can be a multi-click signal, such as a double-click signal or a triple-click signal. The fingerprint sensor can further comprise a signal processing module for determining whether the input signal is a multi-click signal. The signal processing module determines that the input signal is a multi-click signal while the duration value of several adjacent input signals is less than a preset value. Here, the preset value can be set and tested in accordance with the users' operation habits. The signal processing module can be implemented as the hardware, the firmware, the software or the combination thereof.
In one embodiment, the fingerprint sensor can further comprise the aforementioned keypad structure 104. The pressed signal from pressing the keypad structure 104 may be used as the mode switching hotkey. The keypad structure 104 can be a mechanical keypad or a thin film keypad.
In the embodiment 20, the operation modes can include a fingerprint recognition mode, a scrolling mode, zooming in/out mode or cursor mode.
If the input signal is not a mode switching hotkey, the input signal is converted to at least one fingerprint image which is then compared with a fingerprint database in step S306, in order to determine whether or not the fingerprint image matches with the data stored in the database in step S307. If the fingerprint image matches the database, an authorization process is performed in step S308 and this operation mode is end. If the fingerprint image does not match any data stored in the database, a message of un-recognizable is responded in step S309, and this operation mode is end.
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In step S401, the fingerprint sensor enters the cursor mode which is set as the preset operation mode. In step S402, an input signal is detected by the fingerprint sensor, and the input signal is then determined whether or not the input signal is a mode switching hotkey, in step S403.
If the input signal is a mode switching hotkey, the information of another operation mode is prompted by a screen or a speaker in step S404, and the fingerprint sensor switched to the another operation mode, such as a fingerprint recognition mode, scrolling mode or zooming in/out mode, and this operation mode is end.
If the input signal is not a mode switching hotkey, the input signal is converted to at least one fingerprint image which is then applied for controlling the cursor in step S406, and then the step S402 is executed again.
In the cursor mode 40, the way to move the cursor is based on the fingerprint moving direction and distance identified from the plurality of fingerprint images. Or, it can be based on the fingerprint slide movement direction identified from the plurality of fingerprint images. In accordance with the direction to repeatedly move the cursor, the repeating function thus can be achieved.
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In step S501, the fingerprint sensor enters the scrolling mode which is set as the preset operation mode. In step S502 an input signal is detected by the fingerprint sensor and the input signal is determined whether or not the input signal is a mode switching hotkey in step 503. If the input signal is a mode switching hotkey, the information of another operation mode is prompted in step S504, and the fingerprint sensor is switched to another operation mode, such as the fingerprint recognition mode, cursor mode or zooming in/out mode, in step S505, and this operation mode is end.
If the input signal is not a mode switching hotkey, the input signal is converted to at least one fingerprint image and the scrollbar is scrolled according to the at least one fingerprint image in step S506, then the step S502 is executed again for waiting another input signal.
In the scrolling mode 50, the way to control the scrollbar is based on the fingerprint moving direction and distance identified from the plurality of fingerprint images. Or, it can be based on the fingerprint slide movement direction identified from the plurality of fingerprint images. In accordance with the direction to repeatedly move the cursor, the repeating function thus can be achieved.
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If the input signal is a mode switching hotkey, the information of another operation mode is prompted by a screen or a speaker in step S604, and the fingerprint sensor is switched to the another operation mode in step S605, and this operation mode is end.
If the input signal is not a mode switching hotkey, the input signal is converted to at least one fingerprint image which is applied for zooming in/out a displayed image in step S606, and then the step S602 is executed again for waiting another input signal.
In the zooming in/out mode 60, the way to zoom in/out the image is based on the fingerprint slide movement direction identified from the plurality of fingerprint images. The level to zoom in/out the image may be based on the distance of the fingerprint slide movement identified from the plurality of fingerprint images.
In the embodiment 20, an on screen display (OSD) is used to prompt the information of another operation mode. Each of the plurality of operation modes has its own information, i.e., status message. The status message can be a corresponding text or pattern. Users can understand the function the operation mode in accordance with the text or pattern. Please Refer to
The aforementioned fingerprint sensor may be applicable to any kind of electronic apparatus, such as the desk computer, the industrial computer, the laptop, the mobile communication device (ex: mobile phone), the portable apparatus (ex: personal digital assistant). The electronic apparatus comprises an operating system and a fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor has a plurality of operation modes to operate the operating system. The fingerprint sensor comprises: a fingerprint sensing module for sensing the fingerprint and for generating an input signal; and a keypad structure, disposed below the fingerprint sensing module, for generating a pressed signal when the keypad structure is pressed by an external force; wherein the pressed signal is a mode switching hotkey for switching among the plurality of operation modes.
The operating system can be implemented as the hardware, the firmware, the software or the combination thereof. The finger sensor may be an optical sensing module or a chip based sensing module. The chip based sensing module can be a capacitance sensor, a pressure sensor, a capacitance-pressure sensor, or a temperature-difference sensor. The fingerprint sensor can further comprise a signal processing module for determining whether the input signal is a multi-click signal. The signal processing module can detect the duration for several adjacent input signals which is less than a preset value to determine whether the input signal is a multi-click signal. If the input signal is a multi-click signal, the fingerprint apparatus may switch among the plurality of operation modes.
While the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments of the present invention, it is not limited to such detail since numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the claims
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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097104087 | Feb 2008 | TW | national |