Apple patent filing moves Touch ID to the iPhone or iPad touchscreen

A patent filing made by Apple called "Fingerprint Sensor in an Electronic Device," shows how Touch ID might be placed directly inside the touchscreen of an iPhone or iPad instead of under the home button. The patent would allow users to have their fingerprint scanned by pressing on a specific location on the screen of the handset or tablet.

Security could be enhanced on the iPad by requesting that the user verify his identity by matching the fingerprints on all five fingers on one hand. A palm print could also be employed.

Previous attempts to embed a fingerprint scanner inside a touchscreen have resulted in the placement of additional layers on top of the display which harmed the quality of images seen on the screen. Additionally, touch inputs sometimes would not register on a touchscreen outfitted with the additional material. Apple plans on getting around this by using an integrated circuit that would be placed on the bottom of a cover sheet or on the top of the display. Using a "transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide," Apple would be able to prevent a drop in the quality and clarity of the images seen on the touchscreen.

The patent filing is partly credited to Dale Setlak, co-founder of AuthenTec. The biometrics company was purchased by Apple in 2012 to help it produce the current Touch ID fingerprint scanner.


source: FPO via AppleInsider