Patent Publication Number: US-2015067829-A1

Title: Electronic Device and Method for Unlocking Screen of Electronic Device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2013/088950, filed on Dec. 10, 2013, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201210535640.3, filed on Dec. 12, 2012, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an electronic device that has a touchscreen, and in particular, to a method for unlocking a screen of an electronic device that has a touchscreen. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As communications technologies develop, portable electronic products increasingly become a part of people&#39;s daily life. In a bus or subway, in a café, even among a group of people walking in haste, it can be seen at any time that people are using mobile electronic products such as mobile phones or tablet computers. These mobile electronic products have one common characteristic, that is, they have a touch screen. On one hand, the screen is used to display texts and pictures; and on the other hand, the screen helps a user perform an operation, such as starting an application, inputting a text, or triggering a function, on an electronic product by means of touching or tapping. 
     Because a manner such as touching can immediately start a function or program on the electronic products, a user needs to lock a touchscreen when these electronic products are not in use, so as to prevent mis-operation or start of some unexpected functions by mistake. When these electronic products are used next time, the user needs to unlock the screen before performing an operation. 
     There are many manners of unlocking a screen, for example, inputting numerics or letters in a specific arranging manner. However, this manner is relatively complex because the user needs to first create a group of personal passwords and memorize it, and then input it when unlocking the screen. This reduces usability of an unlocking process, and accordingly reduces usability of a mobile electronic product. Another common manner of unlocking a touchscreen is the slide-to-unlock manner developed by Apple®. Content of this manner is that a preset image such as a slider is displayed on a screen, and when a user drags the slider a specific distance to a specified position, the screen is unlocked. This manner is easy to use, but everyone knows an unlocking process, so that security of information in a mobile electronic product is susceptible to damage. 
     SUMMARY 
     To resolve the foregoing problem in the prior art, a purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for unlocking a screen of an electronic device, which can on one hand help a user unlock the screen, and on the other hand ensure that information in the electronic device is secure to a certain extent. 
     A method for unlocking a screen of an electronic device according to an implementation manner of the present invention is applied to an electronic device that includes a screen and a storage unit. The method for unlocking a screen of an electronic device includes detecting, in a locked state, intent of a user to unlock the screen, extracting multiple pieces of contact information from the storage unit of the electronic device when it is detected that the user intends to unlock the screen, where each piece of the extracted contact information includes a first attribute value and a second attribute value, displaying, on the screen, first attribute values and second attribute values that are of the extracted contact information, detecting an action of matching the contact attribute values by the user, and unlocking the screen when it is detected that the user correctly matches a first attribute value and a second attribute value that are of the contact information, and otherwise maintaining the locked state. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the intent of the user to unlock the screen includes touching one or more physical keys on the electronic device. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the first attribute value and the second attribute value that are of the contact information include two of a name, a contact manner, and a photo. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the contact manner includes a phone number, an email address or an instant messaging number. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the displayed first attribute values and second attribute values of the multiple pieces of contact information are not quantitatively symmetric. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the displayed first attribute values of the multiple pieces of contact information are located in a first area of the screen, and the second attribute values are located in a second area. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the displayed first attribute values and second attribute values of the multiple pieces of contact information are displayed as icons on the screen. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the action of matching the contact attribute values by the user is moving an icon of a first attribute value by means of touching so that the icon at least partly covers an icon of a second attribute value. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the icon of the first attribute value and the icon of the second attribute value automatically coincide when the user moves the icon of the first attribute value of the contact information so that the icon at least partly covers the icon of the second attribute value and when the matching is correct, and otherwise the icon of the first attribute value automatically moves back to its original position. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the icon of the first attribute value and the icon of the second attribute value automatically coincide when the user moves the icon of the first attribute value of the contact information so that the icon at least partly covers the icon of the second attribute value, and wherein the screen of the electronic device is unlocked when the matching is completely correct, and otherwise the locked state is maintained. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the electronic device is prevented from responding to any touch, on the screen, that is not corresponding to the action of matching the contact attribute values when the electronic device is in the locked state. 
     As a further improvement of the present invention, the multiple pieces of contact information are extracted from a predetermined contact group. 
     An implementation manner of the present invention further provides an electronic device, where the electronic device includes a storage unit, one or more processing units, and one or more modules stored in the storage and configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more modules include an action recognizing module configured to detect intent of a user to unlock a screen, an information invoking module configured to extract multiple pieces of contact information from the storage unit when it is detected that the user intends to unlock the screen, where each piece of the extracted contact information includes a first attribute value and a second attribute value, a graph processing module configured to display, on the screen, first attribute values and second attribute values that are of the extracted contact information, where the action recognizing module is further configured to detect an action of matching, by the user, the contact attribute values based on display of the screen, a determining module configured to determine whether the user correctly matches a first attribute value and a second attribute value that are of the contact information, and an executing module configured to unlock the screen when the determining module determines that the user correctly matches a first attribute value and a second attribute value that are of the contact information, and otherwise maintain the locked state. 
     According to the electronic device and the method in the implementation manners of the present invention, an unlocking solution is designed by extracting information that is stored by a user in an electronic device, and meanwhile, ignorance of a nonuser about the information stored in the electronic device is utilized to increase unlocking difficulty for the nonuser, thereby ensuring unlocking convenience for the user and improving security of the information in the electronic device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of an electronic device according to some implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart of unlocking an electronic device according to some implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D  are schematic diagrams of an unlocking interface according to some implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3E  to  FIG. 3F  are schematic diagrams of an unlocking process according to some implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of an electronic device according to some other implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of unlocking an electronic device according to some other implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6B  are schematic diagrams of an unlocking interface according to some other implementation manners of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of unlocking an electronic device according to still another implementation manner of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8A  to  FIG. 8B  are schematic diagrams of an unlocking interface according to still another implementation manner of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     An unlocking method in the present invention can be applied to various electronic apparatuses that have a touchscreen. The following uses an electronic apparatus that executes the unlocking method to describe specific implementation manners. To comprehensively understand the present invention, description of the following specific implementation manners involves many technical details. However, a person skilled in the art should understand that the present invention may be implemented without requiring these specific details. In other implementation manners of the present invention, a commonly-known method, process, component, and circuit are not described in detail, so as to avoid unnecessarily limiting, shrinking or confusing the implementation manners. 
       FIG. 1  is an electronic device  100  according to a specific implementation manner of the present invention. The electronic device  100  includes components such as a touchscreen  102 , a touchscreen control unit  103 , a central processing unit  104 , a storage controller  105 , a peripheral port  106 , a radio frequency circuit  107 , an extension interface  108 , an audio circuit  109 , and a storage unit  201 . These components communicate with each other through one or more buses. In this implementation manner of the present invention, the electronic device  100  may be any mobile or portable electronic device, including but not limited to a mobile phone, a mobile computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a smart TV set, a combination of two or more of the foregoing devices, and the like. 
     In this implementation manner of the present invention, the central processing unit  104  may consist of a single packaged integrated circuit, and may also consist of multiple packaged integrated circuits that are connected to each other, and is configured to process data and execute an application program. The peripheral port  106  electrically connects external devices such as an input device and an output device that are of the electronic device  100  to the central processing unit  104  and the storage unit  201 . The central processing unit  104  runs various software programs and/or instruction sets that are stored in the storage unit  201 , so as to execute various functions of the electronic device  100  and process data. 
     In some implementation manners of the present invention, the central processing unit  104 , the storage controller  105  and the peripheral port  106  may be implemented on a single chip such as a chip  101 . However, in some other implementation manners, the central processing unit  104 , the storage controller  105  and the peripheral port  106  may be implemented on multiple independent chips. 
     The storage unit  201  may include a random access memory (RAM), a nonvolatile memory, a mass storage device (such as microdrive) or a combination thereof. The nonvolatile memory includes an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, and the like. In some other implementation manners, the storage unit  201  may further include a storage that is far away from one or more central processing units  104 , for example, a network attached storage (NAS) accessed via the radio frequency circuit  107  or the peripheral port  106 , and a communications network (not illustrated). The communications network may be the Internet, one or more intranets, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a storage area network (SAN), or a proper combination of the foregoing networks. The storage controller  105  is configured to control access of the electronic components, such as the central processing unit  104  or the peripheral port  106 , of the electronic device  100  to the storage unit  201 . 
     The radio frequency (RF) circuit  107  receives and sends an electromagnetic wave. The radio frequency circuit  107  converts an electrical signal into an electromagnetic wave signal, or converts an electromagnetic wave signal into an electrical signal, and communicates with the communications network and another communications device by using an electromagnetic wave signal. The radio frequency circuit  107  includes commonly-known circuits that are used to execute these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, a radio frequency transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a codec chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a storage, and the like. In this implementation manner of the present invention, the communications network that performs communication with the radio frequency circuit  107  includes the Internet, an intranet and/or a wireless network, wireless local area network and/or metropolitan area network (MAN) such as a cellular telephone network. The communication may be performed by using any one of multiple communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Bluetooth®, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), a protocol for email, instant messaging and/or short message service (SMS), or any other proper communications protocol, including a communications protocol that has not been developed when the present invention is completed. 
     The audio circuit  109 , a loudspeaker  1091 , and a microphone  1092  provide audio interfaces between a user and the electronic device  100 . The audio circuit  109  receives audio data from the peripheral port  106 , converts the audio data into an electrical signal, and sends the electrical signal to the loudspeaker  1091 . The loudspeaker  1091  converts the electrical signal into a sound wave that is audible by human ears. The audio circuit  109  further receives an electrical signal that is converted from a sound wave by the microphone  1092 , converts the electrical signal into audio data and sends the audio data to the peripheral port  106  for processing. The audio data may be retrieved by the peripheral port  106  from the storage unit  201  and/or the radio frequency circuit  107 , and/or sent to the storage unit  201  and/or the radio frequency circuit  107 . In some other implementation manners of the present invention, the audio circuit  109  further includes an earphone or a headphone jack (not illustrated), which is configured to provide an interface between the audio circuit  109  and a detachable audio input/output peripheral (not illustrated). For example, the audio input/output peripheral may be an output-only headphone, and may also be a headset that has both an output (a single-earpiece or double-earpiece output headset) and an input (a microphone). 
     The touchscreen control unit  103  provides an interface between the touchscreen  102  of the electronic device  100  and the peripheral port  106 . The touchscreen  102  provides both an output interface and an input interface between the electronic device  100  and the user. The touchscreen control unit  103  receives/sends an electrical signal from/to the touchscreen  102 , and the touchscreen  102  displays a visual output to the user. The visual output includes a text, a graph, a video, or a combination thereof. Some or all of the visual output may be corresponding to an object of a user interface, and the following describes more details of it. In this implementation manner of the present invention, the touchscreen  102  includes a touch-sensitive surface that receives or accepts an input of the user, and that is used to receive the input of the user based on a sense of touch and/or a tactile contact. In the following description, descriptions in different manners such as a screen, a touchscreen or a touch-controlled screen are all corresponding to the touchscreen  102 , and details are not described herein again. 
     In this implementation manner of the present invention, the touchscreen  102  and the touchscreen controller  103  (along with any related software module and/or instruction set in the storage unit  201 ) detect a touch or proximity on the touchscreen  102  and any movement or discontinuity of the touch or proximity, and convert the detected touch or proximity into interaction with a user interface object such as one or more virtual keys displayed on the touchscreen. In this implementation manner of the present invention, a point that responds to the touch or proximity of the user on the touchscreen  102  is corresponding to one or more fingers of the user, or any proper object or accessory, such as a stylus. Technologies used in the touchscreen  102  include but are not limited to a liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, a laser phosphor display (LPD) technology, an in-plane switching (IPS) technology, and a retina screen technology. The touchscreen  102  and the touchscreen controller  103  may use any one of multiple touch-sensitive technologies to detect the touch or proximity and its movement or discontinuity. These touch-sensitive technologies include but are not limited to capacitance, resistance, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, and other proximity sensor arrays, or other technologies that are used to determine one or more points making contact with the touchscreen  102 . 
     The electronic device  100  further includes a power system  301  that is configured to supply power to various components. The power system  301  may include a power management system, one or more power supplies (such as a battery), a charging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (such as a light emitting diode), and any other component associated with generation, management, and distribution of electrical energy of the electronic device  100 . 
     In this implementation manner of the present invention, the storage unit  201  stores software components or instruction sets that implement functions of the electronic device  100 . The software component or the instruction set includes but is not limited to an operating system  110 , various types of application program  111 , a screen locking/unlocking unit  112 , and an address book  113  that are shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The operating system  110  includes various components and/or drivers that are used to control and manage routine system tasks such as memory management, storage device control, and power management, and facilitate communication between various software and hardware. In this implementation manner of the present invention, the operating system  110  may be the Android® system of Google®, the iOS system developed by Apple®, the Windows® system developed by Microsoft®, or an embedded operating system such as Vxworks. 
     The application program  111  includes any application that is installed on the electronic device  100 , including but not limited to a browser, an email service, an instant messaging service, word processing, a virtual keyboard, a widget, encryption, digital rights management, speech recognition, voice replication, positioning (such as a function provided by the Global Positioning System), music playback, and the like.  FIG. 1  shows only the screen locking/unlocking unit  112  and the address book  113  that will be described in detail in the following specific implementation manners of the present invention, and other existing and common applications and instruction sets are not shown. 
     The screen locking/unlocking unit  112  is configured to lock or unlock the screen according to an operating action and/or state of the user on the electronic device  100 . Accordingly, the electronic device  100  includes a locked state and an unlocked state of the user interface. In some implementation manners of the present invention, the unlocked state includes states used for multiple applications. 
     In the locked state, the electronic device  100  is powered on and an operation can be performed. However, the majority of user inputs are ignored, that is, the electronic device  100  does not respond to user inputs to perform some user-expected operations. The expected operations may include navigation between user interfaces, and activation or deactivation of a predetermined function set. The locked state may be used to prevent unexpected or unauthorized use of the electronic device  100 , or activation or deactivation of a function on the electronic device  100 . When the electronic device  100  in the locked state, it may be called a locked electronic device  100 . In some embodiments, the electronic device  100  in the locked state may respond to limited user inputs. These inputs include an input corresponding to an attempt to switch the electronic device  100  to an unlocked state of the user interface, or an input corresponding to powering off the electronic device  100 . In other words, the locked electronic device  100  responds to a user input corresponding to an attempt to switch the electronic device  100  to an unlocked state of the user interface, and a user input corresponding to powering off the electronic device  100 , but does not respond to a user input corresponding to an attempt to navigate between user interfaces. It should be understood that, even though the electronic device  100  ignores user inputs, when an input is detected, the device  100  may still provide the user with a sensory feedback (such as a visual, audio or vibration feedback) indicating that the input will be ignored. As an exception, in some implementation manners, the electronic device  100  in the locked state may respond to a user input for making an emergency call. For example, the user may start a dialing function of the electronic device  100  by triggering a predetermined key, so as to make the emergency call. 
     In the unlocked state, the electronic device  100  is in its normal working state, and detects and responds to user inputs corresponding to interaction with the user interface. The electronic device  100  in the unlocked state may be referred to as an unlocked electronic device  100 . The unlocked electronic device  100  detects and responds to user inputs used for navigation between user interfaces, data inputting, and function activation or deactivation. In an implementation manner in which the electronic device  100  includes the touchscreen  102 , the unlocked electronic device  100  detects and responds to a touch or proximity that is executed by using the touchscreen  102  and is corresponding to navigation between user interfaces, data inputting, and function activation or deactivation. 
     In some specific implementation manners of the present invention, the screen locking/unlocking unit  112  includes an action recognizing module  1121 , a determining module  1122 , an executing module  1123  and/or an information invoking module  1124 . For example, when the electronic device  100  is in the unlocked state, the action recognizing module  1121  is configured to monitor whether any one condition of one or more conditions for switching the electronic device  100  to the locked state is met. In some implementation manners, the condition includes but is not limited that the touchscreen  102  of the electronic device  100  does not detect a touch operation of the user in a specific period, or that the user triggers a specified screen locking key such as a physical on-off button, or a virtual key or key combination on the touchscreen  102 . When the condition is met, the executing module  1123  invokes a corresponding instruction set to drive the electronic device  100  to enter a locked state. In some other implementation manners of the present invention, when the electronic device  100  is in the locked state, the action recognizing module  1121  monitors operations of the user. When it is detected that an operation or a combination of operations of the user shows that the user has intent to unlock the electronic device  100 , in some implementation manners of the present invention, the information invoking module  1124  invokes one or more pieces of contact information in the address book  113 . Each piece of contact information at least includes attribute data of a contact, such as a contact name  1131 , a contact photo  1132  and/or a contact manner  1133 . The contact manner  1133  includes, for example, one or more of a phone number, an email address, and an instant messaging number. The invoked information is displayed on the touchscreen  102  in a manner shown in  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D . The user needs to correctly match a displayed photo and a corresponding contact name. In some specific implementation manners of the present invention, the action recognizing module  1121  recognizes a matching operation of the user and generates a result of contact photo and name matching. The determining module  1122  compares and determines whether the matching result generated by the action recognizing module  1121  is consistent with a correspondence between the originally stored contact photo and name in the address book  113 . If a consistency is determined, the executing module  1123  unlocks the screen  102  of the electronic device  100 , and drives the electronic device  100  to enter the unlocked state, and otherwise displays an unlocking failure, and then drives the electronic device  100  to enter the locked state. 
     A communications module  114  is configured to communicate with another device through one or more extension interfaces  108 , and the communications module  114  includes various software components that process data that is received by the radio frequency circuit  107  and the extension interface  108 . The extension interface  108 , for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, is suitable for direct coupling with another device, or indirect coupling with another device through a (wired or wireless) network. 
     A graph processing module  115  includes various known software components that are used to present and display a graph on the touchscreen  102 . In this implementation manner of the present invention, the graph includes any object that can be displayed to the user, including but not limited to a text, a web page, an icon (such as a user interface object including a virtual keyboard), a digital image, a video, an animation, and the like. 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart of switching an electronic device  100  from a locked state to an unlocked state in some implementation manners of the present invention. At the beginning of unlocking, the electronic device  100  is in the locked state (step S 201 ). When a user intends to unlock the electronic device  100 , the user needs to trigger a specified function key on the electronic device  100  (step U 201 ). The function key may be a single key such as an on-off button (not illustrated) of the electronic device  100 , and only pressing the on-off button is required to implement the triggering. The function key may also be a combination of multiple function keys, such as a volume button and a camera shutter button (not illustrated). In this case, the triggering may be simultaneously pressing the volume button (a volume up button or a volume down button) and the camera shutter button. 
     The electronic device  100  detects the triggering from the user on the electronic device in step U 201 , and therefore determines that the user has the intent to unlock the electronic device  100 . In this case, in step S 202 , the electronic device  100  lights up the screen  102 . In addition, in some implementation manners of the present invention, an information invoking module  1124  extracts attribute information of some contacts of the user, such as contact names  1131 , photos  1132 , and contact manners  1133 , from a storage unit  201 , particularly an address book  113 . The contact manner  1133  may be a phone number, an email address, an instant messaging number, or the like. In specific implementation and application, the information invoking module  1124  may extract the information in a random manner or in a manner predetermined by the user. For example, in some implementation manners of the present invention, the user may predetermine a contact group to be extracted and a specified contact manner, and the multiple pieces of contact information are extracted from the predetermined contact group. For example, the contact information may be predetermined to be extracted from a family group of the user, so that a family member of a nonuser has great difficulty in correct unlocking of the electronic device  100  of the user. 
     In step S 203 , the electronic device  100  displays, on different areas of the touchscreen  102 , different attribute values of the contact information extracted by the information invoking module  1124  from the storage unit  201 , particularly the address book  113 , thereby forming, on the touchscreen  102 , one or more visual prompts that can be used by the user to execute an unlocking operation that unlocks the electronic device  100 . The visual prompt includes but is not limited to manners shown in  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D . 
     In  FIG. 3A , the attribute values of the contact information extracted by the information invoking module  1124  from the storage unit  201 , particularly the address book  113 , include a photo and a name. In this implementation manner, the extracted contact photo and name are respectively referred to as a first attribute value and a second attribute value. In the implementation manner shown in  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D , the first attribute values and second attribute values are not quantitatively corresponding or symmetric. For example, in  FIG. 3A , only one photo is displayed, but there are three names. In this implementation manner, the user needs to correctly match the contact person in the photo on the left and a contact name listed on the right before the electronic device  100  can unlock the screen  102 . What is shown in  FIG. 3B  and  FIG. 3C  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 3A , and a difference only lies in their specific arranging manners of photos and names. In  FIG. 3B , the photo is in the upper part of the screen  102  and the multiple names are arranged below the photo. The photo in  FIG. 3C  is in the center of the screen and the multiple names are scattered around the photo. For ease of description, in description of the present invention, an area for displaying the first attribute value such as the photo on the screen  102  is referred to as a first area, and an area for displaying the second attribute value such as the name on the screen  102  is referred to as a second area. For example, the first area of the screen  102  in  FIG. 3A  is the left side shown in the figure, and the second area is the right side shown in the figure, and the first area in  FIG. 3C  is the central area of the screen  102  shown in the figure, and the second area is the peripheral area of the screen  102 . 
     In another implementation manner of the present invention, in order to increase complexity of screen unlocking, there may be respectively multiple photos and multiple names. For example, the number of photos shown in  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3C  may each be three, respectively corresponding to names. The user needs to match all the photos and names before unlocking the screen  102 . For example, in a case shown in  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B , a probability of correct unlocking of the user is one thirds, and when the number of displayed photos increases from one to three, a probability of complete and correct unlocking decreases to one sixths. 
     In some other implementation manners, in order to further increase the complexity of screen unlocking, there are not only respectively multiple photos and multiple names, but also the photos and the names are not quantitatively corresponding or symmetric, as shown in  FIG. 3D . The number of photos shown in  FIG. 3D  is three, and the number of names is five. According to probability-based calculation, the probability of complete and correct unlocking of the user is 1/60, thereby significantly increasing difficulty in correct unlocking. A nonuser of the electronic device  100  will have great difficulty to unlock the screen correctly. Although the present invention is not meant to increase the difficulty of screen unlocking, a change in the unlocking probability caused by the specific implementation manners of the present invention eloquently demonstrates that the interface design in this manner may accordingly increase security of information in the electronic device  100 . 
     In the implementation manner of  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D , photo is used as the first attribute value of contact information and name as the second attribute value. In another implementation manner, name may also be used as the first attribute value of contact information and photo as the second attribute value. In some other implementation manners, contact manner may also be used as the first attribute value, and photo or name as the second attribute value. Alternatively, photo or name is used as the first attribute value and relationship with the user as the second attribute value, and the like, which is not limited. A spiritual essence of the present invention is to make use of familiarity of the user of the electronic device  100  with information stored in the storage unit  201 , particularly in the frequently used address book  113 , in order to increase difficulty in unlocking the electronic device  100  for an unauthorized user, thereby increasing its security. Other unlocking interfaces and manners implemented by using the information stored in the storage unit  201  shall all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. In another implementation manner, as long as the storage unit  201  stores first data and second data that have a mapping relationship (similar to the foregoing first attribute value and second attribute value). For example, a household expenditure item such as water and electricity fees, phone charges, or gas costs and its corresponding payment bank, the first data and the second data may be extracted and used as source data of an unlocking manner. There are multiple specific implementation manners, which are not listed here one by one. 
     In some implementation manners of the present invention, first attribute values and second attribute values of the contact information are displayed as icons on the screen  102 . For example, in  FIG. 3A , after being extracted from the address book  113 , the photo  1132  in the contact information is displayed as a photo icon  1132   a  on the screen. Similarly, the names  1131  are displayed as name icons  1131   a,    1131   b,  and  1131   c.  The manners shown in  FIG. 3B  to  FIG. 3D  are similar to that in  FIG. 3A , and details are not described herein again. In some other implementation manners, the names  1131  may also be displayed as boxes, that is, name boxes  1131   a,    1131   b,  and  1131   c,  so as to enhance use experience of the user. 
     After these different attribute values of the contact information are displayed in a visual manner on the screen  102 , in step U 202 , the user may perform an operation on the displayed content, that is, match a photo (icon) and a name (icon) by means of touching in this implementation manner. For example, the user may use a finger  300  to “touch and hold” the photo icon  1132   a,  and then move the finger  300  to the name icon  1131   a,    1131   b,  or  1131   c  that is corresponding to a correct name confirmed by the user, and release the finger  300 , as shown in  FIG. 3E . During a process of moving the finger  300 , another photo icon  1132   a ′ is generated and moves along with the change of an area touched by the finger  300 . In this implementation manner of the present invention, when the another photo icon  1132   a ′ partly covers the icon of the second attribute value, that is, the name icon  1131   a,    1131   b  or  1131   c  in this example, the action recognizing module  1121  recognizes the matching operation of the user (step S 204 ). Meanwhile, the determining module  1122  determines whether a correspondence between the photo icon  1132   a  that is moved by the user and the partly covered name icon  1131   a,    1131   b,  or  1131   c  is consistent with a correspondence stored in the address book  113  (step S 205 ). If a consistence is determined, the determining module  1123  determines that the matching by the user is correct; and otherwise, determines that the matching by the user is incorrect. 
     If the matching is correct, the icons of the first attribute value and the second attribute value, that is, another photo icon  1132   a ′ and the corresponding name icon  1131   a,    1131   b  or  1131   c,  automatically coincide, and at the same time, the touchscreen  102  is unlocked (step S 206 ). If the matching is incorrect, the icon  1132   a ′ of the first attribute value automatically moves to its original position or disappears, and the touchscreen  102  is kept in the locked state (step S 207 ). In some other implementation manners of the present invention, if the matching is incorrect, the icon  1132   a ′ of the first attribute value may also automatically coincide with the name icon  1131   a,    1131   b,  or  1131   c  to which it “slides,” but the touchscreen  102  is still kept in the locked state. In this implementation manner of the present invention, that the screen  102  is unlocked or kept in the locked state is processed by the executing module  1123 . 
     Unlocking manners of the user interface shown in  FIG. 3B  to  FIG. 3C  are the same as that in  FIG. 3A , and details are not described herein again. In an implementation manner corresponding to the unlocking of the multiple photos and multiple names shown in  FIG. 3D , after the finger  300  “chooses” a photo icon  1132   a,    1132   b,  or  1132   c  by means of pressing and moves the photo icon to a name icon designated by the user, the chosen photo stays on the corresponding name icon or name box  1131   a,    1131   b,    1131   c,    1131   d  or  1131   e,  that is, coincides with the corresponding name icon or name box  1131   a,    1131   b,    1131   c,    1131   d,  or  1131   e,  until the user matches all the photos and names. If all matching is correct, the touchscreen  102  is unlocked. If at least one photo is not correctly matched with a corresponding name, the touchscreen  102  is kept in the locked state. In this manner, a probability that the user correctly unlocks the screen  102  is 1/60. 
     In some other implementation manners, when a photo icon  1132   a,    1132   b  or  1132   c  does not match a corresponding name icon or name box  1131   a,    1131   b,    1131   c,    1131   d,  or  1131   e,  a derived photo icon  1132   a ′,  1132   b ′, or  1132   c ′ “bounces” back to an original position of the photo icon  1132   a,    1132   b  or  1132   c.  If the matching is correct, the photo icon coincides with the corresponding name icon. However, this manner will decrease the unlocking difficulty for the user by means of “trial matching,” that is, when the user does not know a correct correspondence between a photo and a name, the user performs pairing in a manner of matching photos and names one by one, and eventually unlocks the screen  102 . In an example shown in  FIG. 3F , the probability of complete unlocking by means of “trial matching” is 1/11, which greatly rises compared with the foregoing 1/60. 
     In this implementation manner of the present invention, when the electronic device  100  is in the locked state, the electronic device does not respond to any touch, on the screen, that is not corresponding to an action of matching the contact attribute values. 
       FIG. 4  is a systematic block diagram of an electronic device  100  according to another implementation manner of the present invention. In this implementation manner, components of the electronic device  100 , such as a touchscreen  103 , a touchscreen control unit  102 , a central processing unit  104 , a storage controller  105 , a peripheral port  106 , a radio frequency circuit  107 , an extension interface  108 , and an audio circuit  109  are the same as those shown in  FIG. 1 , and details are not described in the following description. 
     In this implementation manner, a storage unit  201  of the electronic device  100  stores software components or instruction sets that implement functions of the electronic device  100 . The software components or instruction sets include but are not limited to an operating system  110 , various types of application program  111 , a screen locking/unlocking unit  112 , and an address book  113 ′ that are shown in  FIG. 4 . The operating system  110  and various types of application program  111  shown in  FIG. 4  are the same as those shown in  FIG. 1 , and details are also not described herein again. 
     The screen locking/unlocking unit  112  shown in  FIG. 4  includes an action recognizing module  1121 , a determining module  1122 , an executing module  1123 , and an information invoking module  1124 . The address book  113 ′ stores a name  1131 , a photo  1132 , a contact manner  1133  that are of a contact of the user, and a title  1134  by which the user addresses each contact. The following describes this specific implementation manner with reference to embodiments shown in  FIG. 5  to  FIG. 8 . In some implementation manners, the title  1134  may also be the name  1131 , which is subject to a setting of the user for the electronic device  100  in specific implementation. When the title  1134  is the name  1131 , the electronic device shown in  FIG. 4  is the same as that in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of switching an electronic device  100  from a locked state to an unlocked state according to some other implementation manners of the present invention. At the beginning of unlocking, the electronic device  100  is in the locked state (step S 501 ). When a user intends to unlock the electronic device  100 , the user needs to trigger a specified function key on the electronic device  100  (step U 501 ). The function key may be a single key, such as an on-off button (not illustrated) of the electronic device  100 , and only pressing the on-off button is required to implement the triggering. The function key may also be a combination of multiple function keys, such as a volume button and a camera shutter button (not illustrated). In this case, the triggering may be simultaneously pressing the volume button (a volume up button or a volume down button) and the camera shutter button. 
     The electronic device  100  detects the triggering from the user on the electronic device in step U 501 , and therefore determines that the user has the intent to unlock the electronic device  100 . In this case, in step S 502 , the electronic device  100  lights up the screen  102 . In addition, in some implementation manners of the present invention, an information invoking module  1124  extracts attribute information of some contacts of the user, such as contact names  1131 , photos  1132 , contact manners  1133  and/or titles  1134  by which the user addresses the contacts, from a storage unit  201 , particularly an address book  113 ′. The contact manner  1133  may be a phone number, an email address, an instant messaging number, or the like. In specific implementation and application, the information invoking module  1124  may extract the information in a random manner or in a manner predetermined by the user. For example, in some implementation manners of the present invention, the user may predetermine a contact group to be extracted and a specified contact manner, and the multiple pieces of contact information are extracted from the predetermined contact group. For example, the contact information may be predetermined to be extracted from a family group of the user or from a group of close friends, which depends on content that is set by the user in the electronic device  100 , and is not limited. 
     In step S 503 , the electronic device  100  displays, on the touchscreen  102 , one of the attribute values of the contact information extracted by the information invoking module  1124  from the storage unit  201 , particularly the address book  113 ′, and at the same time displays a virtual button on another area of the touchscreen  102 , and prompts the user to input another attribute value corresponding to the displayed attribute value. In this way, a visual prompt that can be used by the user to execute an operation of unlocking the electronic device  100  is formed on the touchscreen  102 . For example, the visual prompt may include but is not limited to manners shown in  FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6B . 
     For example, in  FIG. 6A , the attribute value of the contact information extracted by the information invoking module  1124  from the storage unit  201 , particularly the address book  113 ′, includes a photo  1132  and a name  1131 . In this implementation manner, the extracted contact photo  1132  and name  1131  are respectively referred to as the first attribute value and the second attribute value. In this example, the first attribute value, that is, the photo  1132 , is displayed as a photo icon  1132   a  on the screen  102 . A virtual button  400  is displayed in another area of the screen  102 , and content prompting user input is displayed on the virtual button  400 . For example, content displayed in  FIG. 6A  is “Touch and hold and speak out the name of the person in the photo.” In some other implementation manners, the displayed and prompted content changes according to the content that is extracted by the information invoking module  1124  from the storage unit  201 . For example, if the attribute value of the contact information extracted by the information invoking module  1124  from the address book  113 ′ of the storage unit  201  is the photo  1132  and the contact manner  1133 , the content prompting user input, which is displayed on the virtual button  400 , is “Touch and hold and speak out the phone number of the person in the photo,” as shown in  FIG. 6B . 
     After the content prompting user input is displayed on the screen  102 , in step U 502 , the user may touch and hold, according to the prompt, the screen area in which the virtual button  400  is located, and speak out, against a microphone  1092 , the attribute value of a contact required in the prompt, such as the name or phone number of the contact. In step S 504 , the action recognizing module  1121  recognizes a voice that is input by the user and converts the voice that is input by the user into machine-recognizable digital content. That is, the determining module is further configured to convert the voice that is input by the user into a same file format as the second attribute value in the storage unit. For example, the action recognizing module  1121  may include an analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion module to convert the voice content into the digital content. In step S 505 , the determining module  1122  determines whether the digital content that is recognized and converted by the action recognizing module  1121  is the same as the corresponding second attribute value, for example, a name or phone number, of the contact in the address book  113 ′. If the determining module  1122  determines that the digital content is the same as the corresponding second attribute value of the contact in the address book  113 ′, in step S 506 , the executing module  1123  unlocks the screen  102 ; and otherwise, in step S 507 , the executing module prompts that the user input is incorrect and keeps the electronic device  100  in the locked state. 
     In some other implementation manners of the present invention, a prompt for user input may also be directly given according to an attribute value of contact information. An implementation process of one example is shown in  FIG. 7  and a visual prompt for user input is shown in  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 7  is a flowchart of switching an electronic device  100  of the present invention from a locked state to an unlocked state. At the beginning of unlocking, the electronic device  100  is in the locked state (step S 701 ). When a user intends to unlock the electronic device  100 , the user needs to trigger a specified function key on the electronic device  100  (step U 701 ). The function key may be a single key such as an on-off button (not illustrated) of the electronic device  100 , and only pressing the on-off button is required to implement the triggering. The function key may also be a combination of multiple function keys, such as a volume button and a camera shutter button (not illustrated). In this case, the triggering may be simultaneously pressing the volume button (a volume up button or a volume down button) and the camera shutter button. 
     The electronic device  100  detects the triggering from the user on the electronic device in step U 701 , and therefore determines that the user has the intent to unlock the electronic device  100 . In this case, in step S 702 , the electronic device  100  lights up the screen  102 . In addition, an information invoking module  1124  extracts attribute information of some contacts of the user, such as contact names  1131 , photos  1132 , and contact manners  1133 , from a storage unit  201 , particularly an address book  113 ′. The contact manner  1133  may be a mobile phone number, a home phone number, an email address, an instant messaging number, or the like. In specific implementation and application, the information invoking module  1124  may extract the information in a random manner or in a manner predetermined by the user. For example, in some implementation manners of the present invention, the user may predetermine a contact group to be extracted and a specified contact manner, and the multiple pieces of contact information are extracted from the predetermined contact group. For example, the contact information may be predetermined to be extracted from a family group of the user or from a group of close friends, which depends on content that is set by the user in the electronic device  100 , and is not limited. In the following description, an example in which the content invoked by the information invoking module  1124  is information about the owner is used for description, and then the first attribute value of the contact information is a name of the owner, and the second attribute value is a home phone number of the owner. 
     In step S 703 , the electronic device  100  displays a microphone symbol on the touchscreen  102 , so as to prompt the user that a voice input is required, and at the same time displays a virtual button in another area different from an area in which the microphone symbol is displayed on the touchscreen  102 , and prompts the user to input an attribute value of the contact information. In this way, a visual prompt that can be used by the user to execute an operation of unlocking the electronic device  100  is formed on the touchscreen  102 . For example, what is shown in  FIG. 8A  includes a microphone symbol  1132   d  and a virtual button  400 . Content prompting user input is embedded into the virtual button  400 , and is “Touch and hold and speak out the home phone number of the owner” in this example. In another implementation manner of the present invention, the microphone symbol  1132   d  may also be not displayed, and only a virtual button  400  and content prompting user input are displayed on the screen  102 , as shown in  FIG. 8B . 
     After the visual prompt for user input is displayed on the screen  102 , in step U 702 , the user may touch and hold, according to the prompt, the screen area in which the virtual button  400  is located, and speak out, against the microphone  1092 , corresponding content required in the voice input prompt, such as the phone number of the owner shown in  FIG. 8A . In step S 704 , the action recognizing module  1121  recognizes a voice that is input by the user and converts the voice that is input by the user into machine-recognizable digital content. For example, the action recognizing module  1121  may include an A/D conversion module to convert the voice content into the digital content. In step S 705 , the determining module  1122  determines whether the digital content that is recognized and converted by the action recognizing module  1121  is the same as a corresponding second attribute value, such as the home phone number of the owner, of a contact in the address book  113 ′. If the determining module  1122  determines that the digital content is the same as the corresponding second attribute value of the contact, that is, the home phone number of the owner, in the address book  113 ′, in step S 706 , the executing module  1123  unlocks the screen  102 ; and otherwise, in step S 707 , the executing module prompts that the user input is incorrect and keeps the electronic device  100  in the locked state. 
     Some exemplary specific implementation manners of the present invention are disclosed above, and a person of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the disclosed content is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent variation and modification made without departing from the concept and principle of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.