Patent Description:
With the development of fingerprint identification technology, under-screen fingerprint identification may be realized in a terminal at present. That is, fingerprint identification may be performed by using fingerprint identification sensors disposed in a display region of the terminal.

<CIT> discloses a mobile terminal and method for controlling the same, where the mobile terminal includes a wireless communication unit configured to provide wireless communication; a display unit including a touch sensor and a fingerprint recognition sensor overlapped with the touch sensor; and a controller configured to deactivate the fingerprint recognition sensor, receive a finger touch input on the display unit, extract, from the touch sensor, touch information related to a touch region where the finger touch input has been applied on the display unit, activate the fingerprint recognition sensor when the extracted touch information indicates a sufficient finger touch input has been received, sense fingerprint information of the finger using the activated fingerprint recognition sensor, and perform fingerprint authentication with respect to the sensed fingerprint information based on the extracted touch information.

<CIT> discloses a fingerprint identification method and mobile terminal. The method is applied to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes a fingerprint identification module with the backlight. The method includes: if a touch operation to a fingerprint identification area is detected, obtaining an effective contact area of the touch operation with the fingerprint identification area; according to the effective contact area, controlling an illumination area of the backlight when the fingerprint identification module scans the fingerprint; and obtaining fingerprint information scanned by the fingerprint identification module according to the illumination area, and identifying the fingerprint information.

<CIT> discloses a fingerprint recognition method and apparatus, computer program and recording medium, where the method is used in an electronic device including the liquid crystal display screen on which fingerprint recognition sensors and light sensors are distributed, and includes: acquiring a fingerprint recognition command triggered by fingers of a user; determining a shielding region consisting of positions of respective light sensors shielded by the fingers after receiving the fingerprint recognition command; selecting a subgroup of fingerprint recognition sensors according to the shielding region; and controlling the selected subgroup of fingerprint recognition sensors to recognize fingerprints of the fingers.

<CIT> provides a fingerprint identification processing method and electronic equipment, and relates to the technical field of communication. The fingerprint identification processing method comprises: receiving a fingerprint input; obtaining fingerprint texture information of the fingerprint input through an optical fingerprint sensor, and obtaining a touch point shape of the fingerprint input through a touch screen; and performing operation corresponding to the fingerprint input when the fingerprint texture information and the touch point shape satisfy preset conditions. The solution of the invention is used to solve the problem that existing fingerprint identification processing has a security risk so that security of the electronic equipment is influenced.

<CIT> provides a fingerprint recognition method, and the method includes: receiving an input partial image corresponding to a partial image of a fingerprint of a first user; partitioning the input partial image into a plurality of blocks; performing a comparison operation based on the plurality of blocks and the enrolled partial images corresponding to partial images of an enrolled fingerprint; and recognizing the fingerprint of the first user based on a result of the comparison operation.

The present invention provides a method for identifying a fingerprint, an electronic device and a computer readable storage medium.

It is understood that the above general descriptions and subsequent detailed descriptions are merely illustrative and explanatory and shall not be intended to limit the present invention.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the present description, illustrate examples consistent with the present invention and serve to explain the principles of the present invention together with the description.

Examples will be described in detail herein with the illustrations thereof expressed in the drawings. When the following descriptions involve the drawings, like numerals in different drawings represent like or similar elements unless stated otherwise. The implementations described in the following examples do not represent all implementations consistent with the present invention. On the contrary, they are examples of an apparatus and a method consistent with some aspects of the present invention.

The terms used in the present invention are for the purpose of describing a particular example only, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular forms such as "a," 'said," and "the" used in the present invention and the appended claims are also intended to include multiple, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is also to be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to any or all possible combinations that include one or more associated listed items. Depending on the context, the word "if' as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "as" or "in response to determining.

The manner of performing fingerprint identification by disposing the fingerprint identification sensors is significantly limited. Further, for determining a contact region on a terminal, a gravity center of the contact region is determined. At present, the gravity center is determined by performing weighted averaging for touch signals. However, because a user may apply a different force at each position of a finger when touching a terminal, the gravity center determined in this way may not coincide with a center (centroid) of the contact region. When the gravity center is located in a fingerprint identification region, a circular region is determined with the gravity center as a center of the circular region with a fixed radius, and all fingerprint identification sensors within the circular region are enabled to identify a fingerprint. However, because the gravity center may not coincide with the center of the contact region, and a contact region in the circular region may be only a small portion of the contact region between the user and the terminal, thereby resulting in incomplete fingerprint information being collected.

As shown in <FIG>, when a gravity center of a contact region is located in a fingerprint identification region, a circular region <NUM> is determined with the gravity center as a center of the circular region with a fixed radius. Here, the contact region refers to a region on the terminal, which is in direct contact with a user fingerprint. A shape of the contact region is usually not circular when a user performs a fingerprint identification operation. As shown in <FIG>, the shape of the contact region <NUM> which is between a finger of the user and a terminal is elliptical. Thus, the contact region may not cover the circular region in the fingerprint identification region, so that a gap exists between the contact region and the circular region. When all fingerprint identification sensors, for example, photoelectric sensors, in the circular region are enabled, since the photoelectric sensors at the gap are not blocked by the finger, light leakage will be observed by the user in the case shown in <FIG>, thereby affecting the use experiences. Further, the collected fingerprint information may not even reach a half of the contact region, resulting in incomplete fingerprint information being collected.

In another example, even though the contact region <NUM> is completely within the circular region <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, the user may only touch the fingerprint identification region with a part of the finger, for example, a fingertip. Due to the fixed radius of the circular region <NUM>, in this case, there still exists the problem of light leakage as shown in <FIG>. Further, fingerprint information collected is little, which is not helpful to fingerprint identification.

If the circular region is reduced to avoid the problem of light leakage, as shown in <FIG>, since the circular region <NUM> (a region indicated by a dotted line) located in the contact region is a small area, the fingerprint information collected is less, which affecting fingerprint identification.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. The method of identifying a fingerprint according to the present invention is applied to a terminal, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, and a wearable device. The terminal includes a touching module and a fingerprint identifying module. The touching module includes a plurality of touch sensors and a touch processor, and the fingerprint identifying module includes a plurality of fingerprint identification sensors and a fingerprint identification processor. The touch sensors include but not limited to mutualinductance capacitive sensors and/or self-inductive capacitive sensors, which may be selected according to needs. The fingerprint identification sensors include but not limited to photoelectric sensors and/or ultrasonic sensors, which may be selected according to needs.

In an example, the terminal further includes a display panel having the touch sensors and the fingerprint identification sensors therein.

It is noted that a fingerprint identification region where the fingerprint identification sensors are disposed in the examples of the present invention may be far larger than a fingerprint identification region in the related art. As shown in <FIG>, the fingerprint identification region in the related art is a small region at a lower half portion of the display panel. In the examples of the present invention, the fingerprint identification region may be disposed in a half region of the display panel, even in the entire display panel.

As shown in <FIG>, the method of identifying a fingerprint includes the following steps S1-S3.

At step S1, the terminal obtains contact region parameters related to a contact region on the terminal. The contact region parameters include line parameters and angle parameters based on contact points in the contact region.

At step S2, a contact pattern is determined according to the contact region parameters. The contact pattern include one or more geometrical shapes including: ellipses, squares, circles, rectangles, etc..

At step S3, fingerprint information within the contact pattern is collected or identified. The terminal activates sensors within the contact pattern and only collect fingerprint information using the activated sensors. Alternatively, the terminal applies a weight matrix so that only fingerprint information within the contact pattern is considered for subsequent operations to identify the fingerprint.

In an example, fingerprint identification sensors within the contact pattern is controlled to collect and/or identify the fingerprint information within the contact pattern which is determined according to the contact region parameters.

On one hand, since the fingerprint identification sensors performing fingerprint identification are merely fingerprint identification sensors within the contact pattern and the contact pattern is covered by a finger of a user, even though the fingerprint identification sensors are photoelectric sensors, light emitted by the photoelectric sensors can be blocked by the finger of the user without any light leakage, thereby improving the user experiences.

On the other hand, since all fingerprint identification sensors in the contact region are controlled to perform fingerprint identification, fingerprint patterns on the contact pattern may be identified, or, the entire contact pattern may be identified. Thus, more fingerprint information is collected, and subsequent operations, such as fingerprint identification, fingerprint authentication, and the like, may be performed easily.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating another method of identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, obtaining the contact region parameters includes the following step S11.

At step S11, contact point coordinates are collected, a first connection line, a second connection line, an intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line, and an included angle of the first connection line and a terminal bezel or an included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel are determined according to the contact point coordinates, where the first connection line is a longest connection line of contact-point connection lines, and the second connection line is a longest connection line of contact-point connection lines which are perpendicular to the first connection line.

The touching module includes touch sensors. When the finger touches the display panel, one or more contact point coordinates are collected by each touching sensor. These contact points may be connected in pairs to obtain multiple connection lines. The length of each connection line may be calculated separately, and the longest connection line is determined as the first connection line. Then the longest connection line among the connection lines which are perpendicular to the first connection line is determined as the second connection line.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating another method of identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, determining the contact pattern according to the contact region parameters includes the following step S21.

At step S21, the contact pattern is determined according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line and the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of obtaining contact region parameters according to an example of the present invention.

In an example, as shown in <FIG>, since the contact pattern on a terminal is generally close to an ellipse when a user performs fingerprint identification, a major axis a of the ellipse may be determined according to the first connection line and a minor axis b of the ellipse may be determined according to the second connection line. For the ellipse, a shape of the ellipse may be determined after the major axis and the minor axis are determined.

Further, the intersection point O of the first connection line and the second connection line is determined, that is, a center of the ellipse, i.e., the center of the contact pattern, is determined. In this way, the position of the contact pattern in the display region of the terminal is determined. An inclination angle of the contact pattern relative to the terminal bezel may be determined according to the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or according to the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel. As shown in <FIG>, an included angle θ of the first connection line and a bottom bezel of the terminal is taken as an example. Of course, an included angle of the first connection line and another bezel of the terminal or an included angle of the second connection line and the bezel of the terminal may also be calculated according to needs.

As a result, the contact pattern may be determined roughly by determining the shape and the position of the contact pattern, and the included angle of the contact pattern relative to the terminal bezel, according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point and the included angle.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating another method of identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, obtaining the contact region parameters further includes the following step S12.

At step S12, contact signal strengths are obtained.

Determining the contact pattern according to the contact region parameters further includes the following step S22.

At step S22, the contact pattern is corrected or modified according to the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths.

In an example, the contact signal strength is further considered on the basis of determining the contact pattern according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point and the included angle. The shape of the contact pattern may not be a strict ellipse and may also be a shape approximate to an ellipse, such as a runway shape or a rounded rectangle. In this case, the shape of the contact pattern may not be accurately determined according to the first connection line and the second connection line.

Further, the touch sensors sense contact signals with low strength at a position where a finger of the user may not touch the display panel but keep close to the display panel, due to the electric field induction. In addition, when the user touches the terminal, due to the electric field induction, touch sensors at the finger edge may also sense contact signals with low strength. However, these positions of contact signals with low strength do not belong to the contact region.

In this example, a reference value may be preset. A contact signal with a strength lower than the reference value is determined as a signal generated by the finger without physical contact with the display panel, and a contact signal with a strength greater than or equal to the reference value is determined as a signal generated by the finger with physical contact with the display panel. In this way, positions where the finger is not in physical contact with the display panel will be removed from the contact pattern. Further, the pressure of the finger on a contact surface gradually decreases outwardly from a center of the contact surface, and the strength of the contact signal sensed by the touch sensors also gradually decreases outwardly from the center. In this case, an edge of the contact pattern may be determined according to coordinates of touch sensors with the minimum strength among the touch sensors corresponding to the contact signals with strengths greater than or equal to the reference value.

Therefore, the contact signal strength may be further considered on the basis of determining the contact pattern according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point and the included angle, so that a shape of the contact pattern is accurately determined, thereby determining the contact pattern accurately.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating another method of identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, obtaining the contact region parameters includes the following step S13.

At step S13, the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths are obtained.

Determining the contact pattern according to the contact region parameters includes the following steps S23-S25.

At step S23, the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line and the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel are determined according to the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths, where the first connection line is the longest connection line of contact-point connection lines, and the second connection line is the longest connection line of contact-point connection lines which are perpendicular to the first connection line.

At step S24, the contact pattern is determined according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line and the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel.

At step S25, the contact pattern is modified or corrected according to the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths.

In the examples of <FIG> and <FIG>, a touch processor may determine the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line, and the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel according to the contact point coordinates. In the examples of <FIG> and <FIG>, the touch processor may determine the contact pattern according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line and the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel. And in the examples of <FIG> and <FIG>, the touch processor may correct the contact pattern according to the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths.

In an example, as shown in <FIG>, the steps of S13-S25 may also be completed by a processor outside the touching module in the terminal, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), which will not be described herein.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating another method of identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, collecting and/or identifying the fingerprint information within the contact pattern includes the following steps S31-S32.

At step S31, at least two fingerprint patterns with a preset shape are determined within the contact pattern.

At step S32, the fingerprint information in the at least two fingerprint patterns with the preset shape is collected or identify respectively.

The collection or identification of the fingerprint information within the contact pattern is a collection or identification performed for the at least two fingerprint patterns with the preset shape selected within the contact pattern.

Taking identification as an example, if the fingerprint information corresponding to the contact pattern is compared with pre-stored fingerprint information, it is required that fingerprint information collected by each fingerprint identification sensor is compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information and a data volume of compared data is positively correlated with a product of a data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors within the contact pattern and a data volume of the pre-stored fingerprint information collected by the fingerprint identification sensors earlier. Thus, when the fingerprint information corresponding to the contact pattern is directly compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information, the data volume of the compared data is excessively large, resulting in long comparison time and affecting user experience.

The data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors within the contact pattern is <NUM> and the data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors generating the pre-stored fingerprint information is <NUM>. In this case, the data volume of the compared data is positively correlated with <NUM>, for example, <NUM> bits.

In this example, because the fingerprint pattern of the preset shape is located in the contact pattern, a data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors in the fingerprint pattern of the preset shape is smaller than the data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors in the entire contact pattern. When comparison with the pre-stored fingerprint information is performed, the data volume of the compared data when the fingerprint information corresponding to the fingerprint pattern of the preset shape is directly compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information is smaller than the data volume of the compared data when the fingerprint information corresponding to the contact pattern is directly compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information.

The data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors within the fingerprint pattern is <NUM>. If the data volume collected by the fingerprint identification sensors generating the pre-stored fingerprint information is still <NUM>, the data volume of the compared data is positively correlated with <NUM>, for example, <NUM> bits. The data volume at this time is <NUM>/<NUM> of the data volume of the compared data when the fingerprint information corresponding to the contact pattern is directly compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information.

Even though the fingerprint information in a plurality of fingerprint patterns of a preset shape is compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information, if the number of the fingerprint patterns of the preset shape is not excessively large, in other words, if the total area of the fingerprint patterns of the preset shape is not larger than the area of the contact pattern, the data volume of the compared data when the fingerprint information in the plurality of fingerprint patterns of the preset shape is compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information is also smaller than the data volume of the compared data when the fingerprint information corresponding to the contact pattern is directly compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information. In this way, the consumption of terminal resources is reduced.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating a fingerprint pattern of a preset shape according to an example of the present invention.

In an example, as shown in <FIG>, the fingerprint pattern <NUM> of the preset shape is a rectangle, or another shape, such as a triangle and a circle, based on requirements. If it is to select or cut out a plurality of fingerprint patterns of the preset shape in the contact pattern, one fingerprint pattern of a preset shape is selected along a particular direction at a preset distance. As shown in <FIG>, selection is performed along a major axis to ensure fingerprint information selected in the fingerprint pattern of the preset shape has no excessive repetitive information.

In an example, preset shape of at least two fingerprint patterns with the preset shape include a same shape and/or different shapes.

In an example, to avoid excessive repetitive information in the fingerprint pattern selected each time, the selection is performed at different positions of the contact pattern. However, the sizes of different positions within the contact pattern may be different. In a contact pattern of an elliptical shape, a region around the center is larger in size in the direction of minor axis, and regions close to both ends of the major axis are smaller in size in the direction of minor axis. If selection is continued with the same preset shape along the direction of the major axis, a region outside the contact pattern may be selected, resulting in selection of useless data and wasting data processing resources.

As a result, preset shape of the at least two fingerprint patterns with the preset shape may be set to include a same shape and/or different shapes. During a selection process, the fingerprint patterns of the same preset shape is selected to reduce complexity of the selection operation. During a selection process, the fingerprint patterns with different preset shapes is selected. A square region with a large length is selected in a region around the center of the contact pattern, and a square region with a small length is selected in a region close to both ends of the major axis within the contact pattern. Thus, a region outside the contact pattern is prevented from being selected. Otherwise, useless data is selected and data processing resources are wasted.

In an example, a plurality of fingerprint patterns may be generated continuously so that one or more fingerprint patterns of preset shapes is obtained respectively in each contact pattern. Further, when the fingerprint information in the fingerprint patterns of the preset shape is compared with the pre-stored fingerprint information, more fingerprint information in the fingerprint patterns of the preset shape may be compared, which helps to improve accuracy of fingerprint identification and increase probability of successful fingerprint authentication.

The pre-stored fingerprint information corresponds to loops and whorls around a finger pad of a user. In the related art, since the fingerprint identification region is greatly limited, the user may touch a fingertip to the fingerprint identification region. In this case, an identified fingerprint pattern is a fingerprint pattern of the fingertip, which is different from the fingerprint pattern of the finger pad. Thus, the fingerprint authentication will be unsuccessful. Since the user is a legitimate user, the authentication should be successful. As a result, a problem of inaccurate fingerprint identification occurs.

In an example of the present invention, the user usually moves his finger during a continuous contact with the terminal so that a plurality of fingerprint patterns are generated continuously. Therefore, the fingerprint information of the plurality of the fingerprint patterns is more comprehensive than the fingerprint information of one fingerprint pattern. The obtained fingerprint information may come from more fingerprint patterns of a preset shape, the fingerprint information of a first fingerprint pattern of the preset shape corresponds to a fingerprint around the finger pad, and the fingerprint information of a second fingerprint pattern of the preset shape corresponds to a fingerprint around the finger tip. In this case, even though it is found through comparison that the fingerprint information of the first fingerprint pattern of the preset shape is different from the pre-stored fingerprint information, if the fingerprint information of the second fingerprint pattern of preset shape is same as the pre-stored fingerprint information, the fingerprint authentication will still be successful, thereby ensuring the accuracy of fingerprint identification.

Corresponding to the above examples of the method of identifying a fingerprint, the present invention further provides an example of an apparatus for identifying a fingerprint.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. The apparatus for identifying a fingerprint according to the present invention may be applied to a terminal such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, and a wearable device. The terminal includes a touching module and a fingerprint identifying module. The touching module may include a plurality of touch sensors and a touch processor, and the fingerprint identifying module may include a plurality of fingerprint identification sensors and a fingerprint identification processor. The touch sensors include but not limited to mutual inductance capacitive sensors and/or self-inductance capacitive sensors, which may be selected according to needs. The fingerprint identification sensor includes but not limited to photoelectric sensors and/or ultrasonic sensors, which may be selected according to needs.

In an example, the terminal may further include a display panel having the touch sensors and the fingerprint identification sensors thereon.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus for identifying a fingerprint may include:.

Optionally, the parameter obtaining module <NUM> is configured to:.

Optionally, the pattern determining module <NUM> is configured to:
determine the contact pattern according to the first connection line, the second connection line, the intersection point of the first connection line and the second connection line and the included angle of the first connection line and the terminal bezel or the included angle of the second connection line and the terminal bezel.

Optionally, the parameter obtaining module <NUM> is further configured to:
obtain contact signal strengths.

The pattern determining module <NUM> is further configured to:
correct or modify the contact pattern according to the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a pattern determining module <NUM> according to an example of the present invention. The parameter obtaining module <NUM> is configured to:
obtain the contact point coordinates and the contact signal strengths.

As shown in <FIG>, the pattern determining module <NUM> includes:.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a fingerprint determining module <NUM> according to an example of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the fingerprint determining module <NUM> includes:.

Optionally, the preset shape of the at least two fingerprint patterns with preset shape includes a same shape and/or different shapes.

The specific manners of performing operations by different modules in the apparatus of the above examples are already detailed in the examples of the relevant methods and will not be repeated herein.

Since the apparatus examples substantially correspond to the method examples, a reference may be made to part of the descriptions of the method examples for the related part. The apparatus examples described above are merely illustrative, where the units described as separate members may be or not be physically separated, and the members displayed as units may be or not be physical units, i.e., may be located in one place, or may be distributed to a plurality of network units. Part or all of the modules may be selected according to actual requirements to implement the objectives of the solutions in the examples. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand and carry out them without creative work.

An example of the present invention further provides an electronic device, including:.

The processor is configured to perform the method of any one example above.

An example of the present invention further provides a computer readable storage medium storing computer programs or instructions, where, when the instructions are executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processor to obtain contact region parameters; determine a contact pattern according to the contact region parameters; and collect and/or identify fingerprint information within the contact pattern. The programs or instructions are executed by the processor to perform steps of the method of any one example above.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus <NUM> for identifying a fingerprint according to an example of the present invention. The apparatus <NUM> may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a message transceiver, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant, and the like.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> may include one or more of the following components: a processing component <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a power supply component <NUM>, a multimedia component <NUM>, an audio component <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) interface <NUM>, a sensor component <NUM> and a communication component <NUM>.

The processing component <NUM> usually controls overall operations of the apparatus <NUM>, such as operations relating to display, telephone calls, data communication, camera operations and recording operations. The processing component <NUM> may include one or more processors <NUM> for executing instructions to complete all or a part of the steps of the above method. In addition, the processing component <NUM> may include one or more modules to facilitate interaction between the processing component <NUM> and other components. The processing component <NUM> include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component <NUM> and the processing component <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> is configured to store different types of data to support operations at the apparatus <NUM>. Examples of such data include instructions, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, and so on for any application or method that operates on the apparatus <NUM>. The memory <NUM> may be implemented by any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory devices or a combination thereof, such as a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic disk or a CD.

The multimedia component <NUM> includes a screen providing an output interface between the apparatus <NUM> and a user. In some examples, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and/or a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen for receiving an input signal from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors for sensing a touch, a slide and a gesture on the touch panel. The touch sensor may not only sense the boundary of a touching or sliding operations, but also detect duration and pressure related to the touching or sliding operations. In some examples, the multimedia component <NUM> may include a front-facing camera and/or a rear camera. When the apparatus <NUM> is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each of the front-facing camera and the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or may be capable of focal length and optical zoom.

The audio component <NUM> is configured to output and/or input an audio signal. The audio component <NUM> includes a microphone (MIC). When the apparatus <NUM> is in an operating mode, such as a call mode, a record mode or a voice identification mode, the microphone is configured to receive an external audio signal. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory <NUM> or sent via the communication component <NUM>. In some examples, the audio component <NUM> also includes a speaker for outputting an audio signal.

The I/O interface <NUM> provides an interface between the processing component <NUM> and a peripheral interface module. The peripheral interface module may be a keyboard, click wheel, a button and the like. These buttons may include but not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a start button and a lock button.

The sensor component <NUM> includes one or more sensors for providing a state assessment in different aspects for the apparatus <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may detect the on/off state of the apparatus <NUM>, and a relative location of components. The components are a display and a keypad of the apparatus <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may also detect a position change of the apparatus <NUM> or a component of the apparatus <NUM>, presence or absence of touch of a user on the apparatus <NUM>, an orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the apparatus <NUM> and a temperature change of the apparatus <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may include a proximity sensor for detecting the existence of a nearby object without any physical touch. The sensor component <NUM> may further include an optical sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor used in an imaging application. In some examples, the sensor component <NUM> may further include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component <NUM> is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the apparatus <NUM> and other devices. The apparatus <NUM> may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WIFI, <NUM> or <NUM>, or a combination thereof. In an example, the communication component <NUM> receives a broadcast signal or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an example, the communication component <NUM> may further include a Near Field Communication (NFC) module for promoting short-range communications. The NFC module is implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology and other technology.

In an example, the apparatus <NUM> may be implemented by one or more of an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Digital Signal Processing Device (DSPD), a Programmable Logical Device (PLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor or other electronic elements to perform the above method.

In an example, there is further provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory <NUM> including instructions. The above instructions may be executed by the processor <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> to complete the above method. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and optical data storage device and the like.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over, as one or more instructions or code, a computer-readable medium and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. Data storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by one or more computers or one or more processors to retrieve instructions, code and/or data structures for implementation of the implementations described in the present application.

Further, the above methods may be implemented using an apparatus that includes one or more circuitries, which include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components. The apparatus may use the circuitries in combination with the other hardware or software components for performing the above described methods. Each module, sub-module, unit, or sub-unit disclosed above may be implemented at least partially using the one or more circuitries.

After considering the specification and practicing the present invention, the persons of skill in the art may easily conceive of other implementations of the present invention. The present invention is intended to include any variations, uses and adaptive changes of the present invention. These variations, uses and adaptive changes follow the general principle of the present invention and include common knowledge or conventional technical means in the art not disclosed in the present invention. The specification and examples herein are intended to be illustrative only.

Claim 1:
A method of identifying a fingerprint, being applied to a terminal, and comprising:
obtaining (S1) contact region parameters related to a contact region on the terminal, wherein the contact region parameters comprise contact point coordinates;
determining (S2) a contact pattern according to the contact region parameters; and
collecting and/or identifying (S3) fingerprint information within the contact pattern;
characterized in that the collecting and/or identifying the fingerprint information within the contact pattern comprises:
determining (S31) at least two fingerprint patterns with a preset shape within the contact pattern; and
collecting and/or identifying (S32) fingerprint information in the at least two fingerprint patterns with the preset shape respectively;
wherein the preset shape of the at least two fingerprint patterns comprises different shapes, wherein a square region with a large length is selected in a region around a center of the contact pattern, and a square region with a small length is selected in a region close to both ends of a major axis within the contact pattern, so that a region outside the contact pattern is prevented from being selected.